As a common traditional Chinese medicinal material, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae (PCR) has pesticide residue problems that cannot be ignored. At present, there are few methods for testing hundreds of pesticide residues in PCR.

This study aims to establish a method for simultaneous determination of 153 kinds of pesticide residues in PCR by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) combined with a novel lipid removal approach, Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) enhanced matrix removal (EMR)-Lipid.

The samples were extracted with acidified acetonitrile through QuEChERS EMRLipid approach. GC-MS/MS analysis was performed on a VF-1701MS (30 m×0.25 mm×0.25 μm) capillary column with electron impact source. Internal standard method for the matrix-matched calibration curve was used for quantification.

The calibration curves for selected 153 pesticides exhibited good linearity (r > 0.997) in the range of 0.05-5 mg·kg^-1. The average recovery rates at 0.05, 0.20, and 0.80 mg·kg^-1 spiked levels were in the range of 71.3%-126.9%, and the relative standard deviations were in the range of 1.1%-13.0%. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification were 0.000 1-0.014 8 mg·kg^-1 and 0.000 3-0.0489mg·kg^-1, respectively.

The GC-MS/MS with QuEChERS EMR-Lipid approach is suitable for rapid and accurate detection of multiple pesticide residues in PCR. The method can also provide a reference for the determination of pesticide residues in traditional Chinese medical plants with similar matrix.