• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.24-29
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• 2010

Purpose: Neonicotinoid insecticides are widely used as they have been proven by experimental studies to have low toxicity to mammals, including humans. As the use of neonicotioids increases, the number of patients with neonicotinoid poisoning has also increased. We conducted a study to investigate the clinical manifestations of neonicotinid poisoning. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the patients who ingested neonicotinids and who visited the emergency department located in Korea from March 2002 to February 2010. We reviewed the patients' age, gender, the amount of exposure, the elapsed time to presentation, the treatment and the outcome. According to the poisoning severity score, we divided the patients with a Poisoning severity score (PSS) of 0 or 1 into the mild/moderate toxicity group and the patients with a PSS of 2 or 3 into the severe/fatal toxicity group. Results: A total of 24 patients were analyzed. The most common clinical manifestations of neonicotinoid insecticide toxicity were gastrointestinal symptoms (66.7%) such as nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain and the others are respiratory symptoms (16.7%), cardiovascular symptoms (12.5%), metabolic imbalance (12.5%), renal dysfunction (8.3%), CNS symptoms (8.3%), and asymptomatic (29.2%). Twenty patients (83.3%) showed mild/moderate toxicity and 4 patients (16.7%) showed fatal conditions such as shock and mutiorgan failure. The mortality rate was 4.2%. In these fatal cases, the patients developed respiratory failure, hypotension, altered mentality and renal failure at the acute stage and they deteriorated to a more serious condition. This severe toxicity was caused by decreased renal excretion of neonicotinid metabolite, and this was improved after hemodialysis. Conclusion: Most patients with neonicotinoid poisoning and who showed mild toxicity usually improved after symptomatic treatment. However, some patients showed significant toxicity with respiratory failure and renal function deterioration, and intensive care needed, including mechanical ventilation and hemodialysis.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2019

Bee's population is declining and disappearing at alarming rate. There are many factors responsible for declining the population of bees including diseases, natural enemies, environmental conditions and pesticides. Insecticides play its role dramatically for their population decline and neonicotinoid insecticides are critically important due to their wide application for pest control. Keeping in view of above problem, effect of neonicotinoid insecticides on olfactory learning behavior in Apis mellifera was observed using Proboscis Extension Reflex (PER) method. In this method, bees were harnessed in centrifuges tubes and feed on insecticides mixed sugar solution after three hours hunger. Bees were checked by feeding on non-treated sugar solution to observe PER response. Minimum proboscis extension was observed for acetamiprid and imidacloprid with 26% and 20% respectively at their recommend field doses while it was maximum for dinotefuran and thiamethoxam with 73% and 60% respectively. Only 40% bees showed response when exposed at 1/10 concentration of field dose for imidacloprid and the least at 1/100 of field dose. At control (Sugar solution) about 90% bees showed PER response. Among these neonicotinoid insecticides tested, imidacloprid and acetamiprid were the most damaging which impaired the olfactory learning performance in Apis mellifera.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.110-115
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• 2010

The aim of this study is to investigate the exposure assessment of Korean consumers to five neonicotinoid pesticides in fruit vegetables cultivated in Korea, using a probabilistic approach. We used five neonicotionid pesticides residues(acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam) data in fruit vegetables reported by Rural Development Administration for the 2009 monitoring programme. Total exposure of five neonicotinoid pesticides for Korean consumer ranged from 0.087 to 0.236 ${\mu}g$/kg/day at the $95^{th}$ percentile. The $95^{th}$ percentile values of total exposure of five neonicotinoid pesticides by probabilistic approach were lower than those by deterministic approach, although mean values of total exposure by probabilistic approach were similar with those of total exposure by deterministic approach. Total exposure to acetamiprid residue may be mainly due to the exposure to acetamiprid through the consumption of strawberry. Also, acetamiprid residues in strawberry were considered as much more contributory factor to total exposure of acetamiprid than consumption data of strawberry. This contributory properties of acetamiprid were similar with those of all other neonicotinoid pesticides, excluding thiacloprid.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.312-318
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• 2020

A method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed for neonicotinoid pesticide analysis in agricultural products. Four compounds (imidacloprid, clothianidin, acetamiprid, thiacloprid) were extracted with acetonitrile from agricultural products and cleaned up by NH₂ solid-phase extraction procedure, and eluted with 0.1% formic acid in methanol/dichloromethane (5/95, v/v). The limit of detection and quantification were 0.0001-0.0005 mg/kg and 0.001 mg/kg, respectively. The mean recoveries of neonicotinoid pesticide from agricultural products were in the range of 90.7-100.9% and 94.4-99.8%, as spiked at 0.2 mg/kg and 0.02 mg/kg, respectively. This validation satisfied the national criteria for pesticide analytical methods. In summary, The present method is fast, precise and sensitive enough for the Positive List System (PLS), and we conclude that the method is also suitable for neonicotinoid pesticide determination in a wide range of agricultural products.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.305-313
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• 2019

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) forage in agricultural areas, and are exposed to diverse pesticide poisoning. Toxic effects on Apis mellifera of different groups of pesticides were tested in the laboratory; fungicide (Metconazole), herbicide (Glyphosate), acaricide (Amitraz), organophosphate insecticide(Fenitrothion) and neonicotinoid insecticides(Thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Imidacloprid, Acetamiprid, Dinotefuran and Clothianidin). Commercial formulations were serially diluted from the recommended concentration (RC) to 10-6 times to carry out feeding and contact tests. Toxicity was transformed into lethal dose (LD50) and hazard question (HQ). The acute toxicity of pesticides showed similar patterns between feeding and contact tests. But feeding tests showed greater toxic to honey bee than contact test. The organophosphate and nitro-neonicotinoid insecticides were highly toxic with HQ values ranging greater than 1. However, cyano-neonicotinoids of Thiacloprid and Acetamiprid showed low toxicity. Even at the RC, 24 hr mortalities were 18 and 30%. The acaricide (Amitraz) showed intermediate level of toxicity at RC but negligible at the concentration lower than 10-1 times. A fungicide(Metconazole) and herbicide(Glyphosate) showed minimal impacts. The results imply that the selective use of pesticides could help conservation of pollinators in agricultural production systems.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.104-109
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• 2010

We investigated five neonicotinoid pesticide residues (acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam) in fruit vegetables and estimated the exposure of neonicotinoid pesticide residue through fruit vegetable consumption using a deterministic approach. Two hundred forty samples of eight fruit vegetables cultivated in Korea were analyzed for their pesticide residue contents. Acetamiprid had the highest detection frequency and the highest residue level in pepper. However, all pesticide levels detected didn't exceed national MRLs. The results using a deterministic approach showed that for chronic and acute study of all neonicotinoid pesticide residues, the exposure was about 50 times lower than toxicological endpoint values. It is necessary to understand that the exposure assessment in this study using a probabilistic approach should be regarded as a important knowledge in the decision-making process.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.106-113
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Bumblebees have been shown to be very effective pollinators for most greenhouse tomatoes. Neonicotinoid insecticides are one of the most widely used pesticides in tomato crops in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study was carried out to investigate the toxicity of four neonicotinoid insecticides (clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) to bumblebees based on the OECD guidelines (No.246, 247). The 48 hr LD₅₀ (㎍ a.i. /bumblebee) values in the acute contact toxicity tests were determined as follows: clothianidin, 0.467; dinotefuran, 3.741; imidacloprid, 3.967; and thiamethoxam, 0.747. The 48 hr LD₅₀ values in the acute oral toxicity tests were determined as follows: clothianidin, 0.005; dinotefuran, 0.056; imidacloprid, 0.325; and thiamethoxam, 0.018. The acute contact and oral toxicity of the test insecticides to bumblebees from most to least toxic was clothianidin > thiamethoxam > dinotefuran > imidacloprid. CONCLUSION: This study provided the basic toxicological data of neonicotinoid insecticides for bumblebees. In the near future, acute toxicity and mixture toxicity of other pesticides to bumblebees could be determined using this method.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2011

Monitoring or follow-up surveying pesticide residues in agricultural commodities is the key to meet the international regulations and to enhance international competitiveness of Korean agricultural commodities. Six neonicotinoid insecticides, acctamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam were monitored in 95 paprika samples collected from Gyeongnam area. Thc pesticide residues were extracted by EN 15662 buffer based on the QuEChERS method, clean-upped with dispersive solid-phase extraction method to remove interfering pigments, and analyzed using UPLC-MS/MS. The neonicotinoid pesticides were detected in 90.5% of the paprika samples. Two or more pesticides were detected in 82.3% of samples. Although detection frequencies were high, all samples complied with the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by both the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) and Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.295-302
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• 2017

Avoidance behavior is an important life history strategy to survive hazardous environment. The experiment was conducted to detect the avoidance tendency of the honeybee Apis mellifera against commonly used pesticides in apple production. Choice test given only 50% sucrose solution and pesticide-mixed sucrose solution as food estimated the avoidance in laboratory. Most of the acaricides and fungicides tested were shown avoided. Among insecticides, honeybee showed strong avoidance to cyhexatine, carbosulfan and fenpyroximate but low to diflubenzuron, tebufenpyrad, and acrinathrin. Avoidance behavior to neonicotinoid insecticides showed bifurcated; highly avoided from thiacloprid, acetamiprid while less avoided from imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran. From the field study, abamectin, fenthion, amitraz and acequinocyl showed highly avoided while fungicide of fenarimol, acaricides of acrinathrin and phosphamidon, IGR insecticide of diflubenzuron, neonicotinoid insecticide of imidacloprid, and carbamate insecticide of carbaryl showed less avoidance in the field. These results partly explained high bee poisoning from carbaryl in apple flowering period, and neonicotinoids during season.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.220-230
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• 2023

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid insecticide widely used for insect control in a variety of crops. The evaluation of imidacloprid total residues in animal feeds derived from crop by-products is required to ensure the safety of livestock products. We performed simultaneous LC/MS/MS analyses of imidacloprid and its metabolites in five different livestock products including beef, pork, chicken, milk and egg from domestic markets. The methods for sample preparation and instrumental analysis were established by modifying QuEChERS method to meet the Codex guidelines. The methods generated 0.0035 mg/kg of the limit of determination (LOD), 0.01 mg/kg of the limit of quantitation (LOQ) and standard calibration linearity with >0.983 of the coefficients of determination (R²). The methods exhibited the recovery values of imidacloprid and its metabolites ranging from 65.66 to 119.27% without any interference between matrices. Imidacloprid total residues in the livestock products were found as values lower than the LOQ and maximum residue limits (MRLs). This study suggests that the methods are successfully applicable for the safety evaluation of imidacloprid total residues in livestock products from domestic markets.