Abstract
Seaweed, a popular seafood in South Korea, has abundant dietary fiber and minerals. The toxicity of arsenic compounds is known to be related to their chemical speciation, and inorganic arsenic (iAs) is more detrimental than other species. Due to the different toxicities of the various chemical forms, speciation analysis is important for evaluating arsenic exposure. In this study, total arsenic (tAs) and six arsenic species (arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, and arsenocholine) were analyzed in 180 seaweed samples. Although there were differences between seaweed species, the concentration of tAs was detected at levels ranging from 1 to 100 µg/g, and the distribution of six arsenic species differed depending on the seaweed species. No correlation between the concentration of iAs and tAs was found in most seaweed species. Through statistical clustering, hijiki and gulfweed were seen to be the seaweeds with the highest ratios of iAs to tAs. Using the iAs concentration data from the arsenic speciation analysis, a risk assessment of seaweed intake in South Korea was conducted. The margin of exposure values showed no meaningful risk for the general population, but low levels of risk were identified for seaweed consumers, with high intakes of gulfweed and hijiki.
Highlights
Arsenic (As) is known to have harmful effects on humans and animals
MLOD was calculated as 3.14 σ/S (σ is the standard deviation of the y-intercept, and S is the mean of the slope) and MLOQ was calculated as 10 σ/S
The distribution of arsenic species and the ratio of harmful inorganic arsenic to total arsenic differ between seaweed species
Summary
Arsenic (As) is known to have harmful effects on humans and animals. Arsenic exists in various chemical forms, and is largely divided into inorganic As (iAs) and organic As [1]. Inorganic As, containing arsenite (AsIII ) and arsenate (AsV ), is known to have high potential for toxicity and frequent occurrence in food and water, posing a health risk to millions of people [2,3]. Previous research reported that iAs causes damage to lung, urinary bladder, and skin [4,5], and is classified as a nonthreshold. Group 1 carcinogen to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) [6,7]. Methylated arsenicals are known metabolites found in humans that have been exposed to iAs [8]. Despite the low toxicity of dimethylarsinic acid (DMAV ) and monomethylarsonic acid (MMAV ), dimethylarcinic acid (DMAIII ) and monomethylarsonic acid (MMAIII ) are extremely toxic [8,9]
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