Enantioselectivity of indoxacarb enantiomers in Bombyx mori larvae: toxicity, bioaccumulation and biotransformation

Abstract Background Indoxacarb is a chiral insecticide with excellent insecticidal activity against lepidopterous insects. Because of their enantioselectivity, chiral pesticides' environmental behavior at the enantiomeric level has been highlighted. The chiral stability, enantioselective bioaccumulation, biotransformation behavior of indoxacarb to a non‐target insect silkworm are still unclear. Results A chiral analysis method for indoxacarb and its metabolite DCJW in silkworm was developed using liquid chromatography and high‐resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC/HRMS). In silkworms, the recoveries of indoxacarb and DCJW were 86.06%‐104.52% with relative standard deviation (RSD) < 9.01%. The 96‐h lethal concentration (LC 50 ) values of R‐indoxacarb, S‐indoxacarb, and enriched S‐indoxacarb (2.333 S/1R) were 1.08 × 10 2 , 1.92, and 6.89 mg a.i. L −1 , respectively, according to the acute toxicity test results. When silkworm larvae were exposed to 1/50 of the LC 50 concentration, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of R‐indoxacarb was 0.0296–0.318, and the BCF of S‐indoxacarb was 0.0125–0.211. In silkworm larvae, the amount of R‐DCJW produced by R‐indoxacarb was 0.00610 to 2.34 times that of the parent R‐indoxacarb, and the amount of S‐DCJW produced by S‐indoxacarb was 0.125–36.9 times that of the parent S‐indoxacarb. Conclusion There was no chiral transition from S‐indoxacarb to R‐indoxacarb or a transformation from R‐indoxacarb to S‐indoxacarb. Indoxacarb was preferentially bioaccumulated in silkworm larva, while S‐indoxacarb bioconversion into the metabolite S‐DCJW was much greater than R‐indoxacarb bioconversion into R‐DCJW. This study could improve understanding of the indoxacarb accumulation and transformation process in insects, as well as provide more scientific data for indoxacarb environmental and ecological risk assessment. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.