Abstract: a high performance gas chromatography method has been developed for determining 20 kinds of organochlorine pesticides including α-BHC and 4,4'-DDT in American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium L.) grown in different areas of GAP plantation base from Liuba county, shaanxi province. The accumulation of organochlorine pesticides in American ginseng with different ages was also explored. Organochlorine pesticides in samples were extracted by hexane-ethyl acetate (1:1) solution, and then purified by a column packed with Florisil using hexane-ethyl acetate (1:1) as elution solvent. Chromatographic analysis was performed on a DB-17 capillary column supplemented with electron capture detector (ECD). A total of 19 organochlorine pesticides except for endrin were detected. The contents of organochlorine pesticides in samples from different areas revealed an obvious difference. Moreover, the residues of organochlorine pesticides in four-year-old American ginseng were higher than those in three-year-old or five-year-old American ginseng. Therefore, this developed method is effective, fast and accurate, which can be used for determining 20 kinds of organochlorine pesticides in American ginseng.

Key words: Panax quinquefolium L., organochlorine pesticides, gas chromatography