The safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a major strategic issue that involves human health. With the continuous improvement in disease prevention and treatment, the export of TCM and its related products has increased dramatically in China. However, the frequent safety issues of Chinese medicine have become the 'bottleneck' impeding the modernization of TCM. It was proved that mycot...

abstract soil microbial activity and biochemical processes are often limited by carbon availability in arid- and semi-arid regions, probably due to the low organic matter content. consequently, return of plant residues to soil is a convenient and effortless practice for increasing microbial activities and biochemical reactions. the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of v...

incorporation of plant residue in soils is considered as an important agricultural practice for maintaining soil fertility in sustainable agricultural system. co2 levels, nitrogen fertilization and plant residues are factors which highly affect decomposition of added organic matter to soil. in this research controlled chambers were used to investigate the effects of elevated atmospheric co2 con...

In practice, pesticides are usually applied simultaneously or one after another for crop protection, and this type of pesticide application often leads to a combined contamination of pesticide residues in the soil environment. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the influence of chlorothalonil on chlorpyrifos degradation and its effects on soil bacterial, fungal, and actinomycete po...

Stored product insects cause millions of dollars per year in losses in stored wheat. Traditionally, storedproduct pest management has relied on chemicals to control insects. In some cases, pest management has been improved by applying chemicals only when needed. An increasing effort is being made to reduce or eliminate pesticide residues in the food supply. This trend has increased since the in...

This article summarizes research findings involving the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of pesticides in food and other tissue matrices. Emphasis is placed on multiresidue analysis of pesticides in nonfatty foods, including some previously unpublished aspects of SFE in this application. Brief overviews of pesticides and traditional multiresidue methods are given, followed by discussion of ...

The utilization of organochlorine pesticides for pest control chemical has been of great interest on residue contamination from biological organisms in the environment. Green mussel (Perna viridis) samples were monitored as bioindicators for assessment of the water quality in coastal waters along the Gulf of Thailand. Thirty-six samples were collected from 12 stations during 1997-1999 and analy...

Considerable economic losses to harvested fruits are caused by postharvest fungal decay during transportation and storage, which can be significantly controlled by synthetic fungicides. However, considering public concern over pesticide residues in food and the environment, there is a need for safer alternatives for the control of postharvest decay to substitute synthetic fungicides. As the sec...

Pharmaceuticals designed for humans and animals often remain unused for a variety of reasons, ranging from expiration to a patient's non-compliance. These leftover, accumulated drugs represent sub-optimal delivery of health care and the potential for environmentally unsound disposal, which can pose exposure risks for humans and wildlife. A major unknown with respect to drugs as pollutants is wh...