Bioaccessibility and speciation of arsenic in children's diets and health risk assessment of an endemic area in Bangladesh

Speciation analysis of arsenic in honey using HPLC-ICP-MS and health risk assessment of water-soluble arsenic

It is well known that arsenic is one of the most toxic elements. However, measuring total arsenic content is not enough, as it occurs in various forms that vary in toxicity. Since honey can be used as a bioindicator of environmental pollution, in the present study the concentration of arsenic and its species (As(III), As(V), DMA, MMA and AsB) was determined in honey samples from mostly Poland and Ukraine using HPLC-ICP-MS hyphenated technique. The accuracy of proposed methods of sample preparation and analysis was validated by analyzing certified reference materials. Arsenic concentration in honey samples ranged from 0.12 to 13 μg kg-1, with mean value of 2.3 μg kg-1. Inorganic arsenic forms, which are more toxic, dominated in honey samples, with Polish honey having the biggest mean percentage of inorganic arsenic species, and Ukrainian honey having the lowest. Furthermore, health risks resulting from the consumption of arsenic via honey were assessed. All Target Hazard Quotient (THQ) values, for total water-soluble arsenic and for each form, were below 1, and all Carcinogenic Risk (CR) values were below 10-4, which indicates no potential health risks associated with consumption of arsenic via honey at average or recommended levels.

Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead Levels in School Meals and Their Risk Assessment in Municipalities in Bahia, Brazil

BACKGROUND

School meals represent a significant supply of nutrients for children in Brazil, especially those in conditions of social vulnerability.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in meals served in public elementary schools in four municipalities in the state of Bahia, Brazil, and assess the risk posed to children's health.

METHODS

Ninety-six samples were collected from 16 schools, freeze-dried, and subjected to microwave-assisted digestion. The As, Cd, and Pb levels were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The risk assessment was based on calculating each element's hazard quotient (HQ).

RESULTS

None of the samples reached or exceeded the tolerable levels for the elements analyzed. Pb was the metal that obtained the most significant result, reaching maximum levels of 39-157 µg·kg-1.

CONCLUSIONS

No element exceeded the PTWI proposed by JECFA; thus, the toxic metal content in school meals poses a negligible risk to children's health.

Bioaccessibility data of potentially toxic elements in complementary foods for infants: A review

The introduction of complementary foods (CFs) is a critical step in an infant's transition to solid foods, providing essential nutrients beyond breast milk. However, CFs may contain potentially toxic elements (PTEs), such as arsenic and cadmium that pose health risks to infants. In this context, understanding the bioaccessibility of PTEs is vital as it determines the fraction of a contaminant released from the food matrix and available for absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Efforts have been made to standardize the assessment methodology for bioaccessibility, ensuring consistent and reliable data. Moreover, regulatory agencies have established guidelines for PTEs levels in food. However, important gaps still exist, which motivates many research opportunities on this topic.

Arsenic speciation as well as toxic and nutrient elements in pantavat (overnight steeped rice)

This study assessed the effect of soaking on the retention and removal of arsenic (As) along with other toxic elements and nutrients in three types of soaked rice or overnight steeped rice (pantavat), as this food dish was highlighted on the Australian MasterChef program in 2021 as a popular recipe. Results showed that brown rice contained twice as much As as basmati and kalijira rice. Cooking with As-free tap water using the rice cooker method removed up to 30% of As from basmati rice. Around 21-29% removal of total As was observed in soaked basmati, brown, and kalijira rice. However, while 13% of inorganic As was removed from basmati and brown rice, no changes were noted in the kalijira rice. Regarding nutrient elements, both cooking and soaking rice caused significant enrichment of calcium (Ca) whereas potassium (K), molybdenum (Mo) and selenium (Se) were reduced substantially for the tested rice varieties. The nutrients magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), sulfur (S) and phosphorus (P) did not significantly change. The results indicated that soaking can minimize up to 30% As and soaked rice reduced few nutrients like K, Mo and Se. Data in this study highlights the retention and/or loss of toxic and beneficial nutrients elements in pantavat when As-free water is used to prepare this food.

Assessing the risk of human exposure to bioaccessible arsenic from total diet through market food consumption in Chengdu, China

To assess the daily intake of total arsenic (tAs) and arsenic speciation and their potential health risks, different food groups, including vegetables, rice, meat, viscera, freshwater fish, and seafood from Chengdu, China were analyzed. The concentrations of tAs ranged from 41.3 to 1185 μg kg^-1 with a median of 238 μg kg^-1, and 26.0% of tAs in the food groups was of inorganic toxic form. The median concentration of As(V) in rice (184 ± 21.6 μg kg^-1) was approximately 2 to 6 times higher than those in other food groups. The bioaccessible inorganic arsenic (iAs) concentrations of the food items obtained from the local markets of Chengdu ranged from 1.07 to 24.6 μg kg^-1 (mean of 6.04 μg kg^-1). Rice contributed toward the largest amount of daily iAs intake (66.2%). The mean daily iAs intake from vegetable, meat and viscera contributed 10.7%, 12.5% and 6.04% of total iAs intake, respectively. The actual concentration of arsenic in the food exposed to the human body depends on oral bioaccessible fraction. The oral bioaccessibility estimated daily intake (μg kg^-1 bw d^-1) of tAs and iAs for the residents of Chengdu was 0.32 and 0.16. Health risk assessments carried out based on bioaccessible iAs concentrations showed that the food items were safe for consumption from the iAs perspective.

Probabilistic estimation and statuses of total, bioaccessible and inorganic arsenic accumulation in commercial white and brown rice in Thailand

Arsenic (As) in rice is a crucial public health concern because it is a human carcinogen. This study was conducted to determine the actual As concentrations and estimate the probable range of As in rice. The status of As accumulation in rice was also determined. White (n=154) and brown (n=54) rice samples were collected over three crop years. The concentrations of As (total, bioaccessible and inorganic) were determined. The total As concentrations in white (0.088-0.295 mg/kg) and brown (0.119-0.517 mg/kg) rice were approximately 58.8% and 57.4% higher than the Codex standards, respectively. However, the bioaccessible and inorganic As in both types of rice were lower than the standards for both rice types. Regarding the classifications of As accumulation (low, normal, high and unusually high), the actual As concentrations found in the rice samples were either in the normal range or a high concentration of As.

Arsenic Exposure via Contaminated Water and Food Sources

Arsenic poisoning constitutes a major threat to humans, causing various health problems. Almost everywhere across the world certain “hotspots” have been detected, putting in danger the local populations, due to the potential consumption of water or food contaminated with elevated concentrations of arsenic. According to the relevant studies, Asia shows the highest percentage of significantly contaminated sites, followed by North America, Europe, Africa, South America and Oceania. The presence of arsenic in ecosystems can originate from several natural or anthropogenic activities. Arsenic can be then gradually accumulated in different food sources, such as vegetables, rice and other crops, but also in seafood, etc., and in water sources (mainly in groundwater, but also to a lesser extent in surface water), potentially used as drinking-water supplies, provoking their contamination and therefore potential health problems to the consumers. This review reports the major areas worldwide that present elevated arsenic concentrations in food and water sources. Furthermore, it also discusses the sources of arsenic contamination at these sites, as well as selected treatment technologies, aiming to remove this pollutant mainly from the contaminated waters and thus the reduction and prevention of population towards arsenic exposure.

Removal of Toxic and Essential Nutrient Elements from Commercial Rice Brands Using Different Washing and Cooking Practices: Human Health Risk Assessment

This study determined the influence of different cooking procedures on the removal of toxic elements (TEs) including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) along with other nutrient elements from different commercially available rice brands sold in Bangladeshi markets. We observed 33%, 35%, and 27% average removal of As, Cd, and Pb accordingly from rice when cooked with a rice to water ratio of 1:6 after washing 5 times. We also found a significant reduction in essential elements: Zn (17%), Cu (10%), Mn (22%), Se (49%), and Mo (22%), when rice cooking was performed as in traditional practice. Daily dietary intakes were found to be between 0.36 and 1.67 µg/kgbw for As, 0.06 and 1.15 µg/kgbw for Cd, and 0.04 and 0.17 µg/kgbw for Pb when rice was cooked by the rice cooker method (rice:water 1:2), while in the traditional method (rice:water 1:6) daily intake rates ranged from 0.23 to 1.3 µg/kgbw for As, 0.04 to 0.88 µg/kgbw for Cd, and 0.03 to 0.15 µg/kgbw for Pb for adults. The HQ and ILCR for As, Cd, and Pb revealed that there is a possibility of noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risk for As but no appreciable risk for Cd and Pb from consumption of rice.

Exposure characteristics of antimony and coexisting arsenic from multi-path exposure in typical antimony mine area

In this study, samples of daily foods, drinking waters, surface waters, and soils were collected and screened to investigate the external exposure of Sb and As from various intake pathways in typical Sb mining area. Biomarker samples of residents were analyzed to monitor internal exposure characteristic of Sb and As in human body. Exposure dosages of As and Sb and transfer of Sb and As from environment to human body were estimated based on the external and internal exposure. The following results were obtained: daily intakes of food accounted for major intakes of both Sb and As, and highlighted the significance of foods intakes from rice and vegetable. The results of Monte Carlo simulations showed that total daily intake of Sb(n = 1444)and As(n = 1131) approximately reached 1.08 × 10^-2 mg/kg/d and 1.19 × 10^-3 mg/kg/d, in which 98.82% and 63.07% of residents have exceeded the threshold dosages of Sb and As. The contaminants contents in biomarkers indicated that Sb exhibited the similar internal exposure as As, while the total transfer rate of Sb from environment to human were estimated as approximately 2.04-2.40 times lower than As. This study also suggested that drinking water is another important pathway with high bioavailability and male resident may present higher priority than female in uptake of Sb and As. The paper suggested the similarity and difference on bioavailability existed in Sb and its group V elements, As, that would provide the essential information on exposure of Sb and As in the typical Sb mine area.