Assessment of organic and inorganic arsenic species in Sengcu rice from terraced paddies and commercial rice from lowland paddies in Vietnam

Arsenic contamination in rice: a DPSIR analysis with a focus on top rice producers

Arsenic contamination in rice poses significant risks to public health and food security. While previous reviews have examined specific aspects of this issue, they often lack a comprehensive analysis linking human activities to arsenic contamination and its broader consequences. This review applies the DPSIR (Driving Forces-Pressures-States-Impacts-Responses) framework to elucidate the cause-and-effect relationships of arsenic contamination in rice, with a focus on top rice producers. It also synthesizes current knowledge on the environmental sources, fate, and transport of arsenic across different environmental compartments, illustrating its movement from emission sources to accumulation in rice while highlighting the complex interplay between environmental conditions, rice varieties, and contamination levels. The DPSIR analysis revealed that socioeconomic factors, including population growth and industrialization, were the primary driving forces behind arsenic contamination in rice. These factors increased pressures such as reliance on arsenic-contaminated irrigation water, historical pesticide use, and industrial pollution, which contributed to arsenic accumulation in rice-growing environments. Consequently, the soil, water, and rice were contaminated with arsenic at various levels, posing serious risks to human health. The impacts extend beyond health concerns to disruptions in global rice trade and threats to food security. In response, various mitigation strategies have been implemented, including regulation, sustainable agricultural practices, water and soil remediation, and public guidance. However, challenges persist, requiring an integrated approach that incorporates scientific advancements, policy interventions, and improved agricultural techniques. Key research priorities include developing arsenic-resistant rice varieties, assessing health risks for vulnerable populations, quantifying economic losses, and determining arsenic-related foodborne diseases burden.

Lead, cadmium and arsenic species in spices from markets in Hanoi, Vietnam

Spices are essential to cooking and include health benefits. Nevertheless, information regarding the prevalence of heavy metals (Pb, Cd and As) and As species in spices is limited. Consequently, 254 samples from 6 varieties of commercially available branded and non-branded spices were examined for heavy metal and As species content. The analytical results were ranked as Pb > As > Cd (p < 0.05), with red chilli and garlic exhibiting the highest and lowest levels, respectively. A significant difference in heavy metal levels was observed between branded and non-branded samples (p < 0.05), suggesting that processing and trade influence the initial metal levels. Arsenite was the predominant form in spices, but dimethylarsinic acid and monomethylarsonic acid primarily accumulated in spices from the Zingiberaceae (p < 0.05). No carcinogenic risk to human health from heavy metals in spices was identified (HIs < 1).

Metalloid Nanomaterials Alleviate Arsenic Phytotoxicity and Grain Accumulation in Rice: Mechanisms of Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Rhizosphere Behavior

Nanoenabled agriculture technology exhibits potential in reducing arsenic uptake in rice; however, a systematic understanding of the rice-soil-microorganism process of nanomaterials (NMs) is lacking. Soil amendment of metalloid NMs, including SiO2, hydroxyapatite, S0, and Se0 at 10-100 (0.1-5.0 for Se NMs) mg/kg, increased rice biomass by 76.1-135.8% in arsenic-contaminated soil (17.0 mg/kg) and decreased arsenic accumulation in plant tissues by 9.3-78.2%. The beneficial effects were nanoscale-specific and NMs type- and concentration-dependent; 5 mg/kg Se NMs showed the greatest growth promotion and decrease in As accumulation. Mechanistically, (1) Se NMs optimized the soil bacterial community structure, enhancing the abundance of arsM by 104.2% and subsequently increasing arsenic methylation by 276.1% in rhizosphere compared to arsenic-alone treatments; (2) metabolomic analyses showed that Se NMs upregulated the biosynthesis pathway of abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, and glutathione, with subsequent downregulation of the arsenic transporter-related gene expression in roots by 42.2-73.4%, decreasing the formation of iron plaque by 87.6%, and enhancing the arsenic detoxification by 50.0%. Additionally, amendment of metalloid NMs significantly enhanced arsenic-treated rice yield by 66.9-91.4% and grain nutritional quality. This study demonstrates the excellent potential of metalloid NMs for an effective and sustainable strategy to increase food quality and safety.

Towards a Standardized Approach for the Geographical Traceability of Plant Foods Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

This paper presents a systematic literature review focused on the use of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) combined with PCA, a multivariate technique, for determining the geographical origin of plant foods. Recent studies selected and applied the ICP-MS analytical method and PCA in plant food geographical traceability. The collected results from many previous studies indicate that ICP-MS with PCA is a useful tool and is widely used for authenticating and certifying the geographic origin of plant food. The review encourages scientists and managers to discuss the possibility of introducing an international standard for plant food traceability using ICP-MS combined with PCA. The use of a standard method will reduce the time and cost of analysis and improve the efficiency of trade and circulation of goods. Furthermore, the main steps needed to establish the standard for this traceability method are reported, including the development of guidelines and quality control measures, which play a pivotal role in providing authentic product information through each stage of production, processing, and distribution for consumers and authority agencies. This might be the basis for establishing the standards for examination and controlling the quality of foods in the markets, ensuring safety for consumers.