Effect of different agricultural conditions, practices, and processing on levels of total arsenic and species in cereals and vegetables: A review

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is absorbed and accumulated during the growth of crops, resulting in elevated As concentrations in agricultural products, and threatening human health. Considering As toxicity is associated with chemical species, this review outlines the available literature on both total As and its species in agricultural products. The review reflects that inorganic As was the dominant species in cereal grains (42%–98%) and vegetables (84.2%–100%), the As species in mushrooms are diverse. Because most raw agricultural products are not eaten directly and are processed before consumption, we discussed how the As concentration and species were influenced by the ordinary processes, like polishing, washing, soaking, thermal treatments, and fermentation, different processing methods have various influence on the As in agricultural products. TAs in cereal grains and vegetables were changed under the processing, such as polishing, washing, soaking, cooking, and fermentation. Polishing was an effective method for reducing the tAs in cereal grains. Using a large amount of water during the washing, soaking, and cooking processes led to a significant reduction in the tAs content, however, the use of As-contaminated water would lead to elevated tAs levels, furthermore, speciation analysis has revealed that the As species remains unaltered during physical processing procedures. Interestingly, fermentation represents a promising approach for mitigating As toxicity given that it facilitates the conversion of inorganic As into its methylated species. This review can provide theoretical support for assessing the dietary exposure risk of As, and decreasing As contents or As toxicity in agricultural products through processing.