Abstract:A method for the simultaneous determination of 19 plant growth regulators in ginseng by quick，easy，cheap，effective，rugged，and safe-ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry（QuEChERS-UPLC-MS/MS）was established.Samples were extracted with acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid.Gradient elution was performed with 0.01% formic acid aqueous solution containing acetonitrile as the mobile phase.The analytes were separated on a Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18column and determined by the internal standard method.Nineteen compounds were simultaneously monitored by single injection using a MS acquisition method including both positive and negative experiments.The results were fairly linear ranging from 0.005 ng/mL to 250 ng/mL under the best conditions，with correlation coefficients ≥0.991 1.Precision was 1.09% to 5.57%（n=6）.The limits of quantification were 0.05 μg/kg to 100 μg/kg.Recovery ranged from 74% to 117% with relative standard deviation≤15% at three concentration levels.The calculated hazard quotient and hazard index of choline chloride，chlormequat，and butanehydrazide detected in the actual samples were all<1，indicating that the dietary exposure risk was at an acceptable level.