Nutritional status affects the bioaccessibility and speciation of arsenic from soils in a simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is a highly toxic contaminant in food and soil. In this study, we investigated the effects of four nutritional states (including a fed state with vitamin C, a fed state with protein powder, a fed state with glucose and a fasted state) on the variability of soil As bioaccessibility and biotransformation using the physiologically based extraction test (PBET) combined with a simulator of the human intestinal microbial ecosystem model (SHIME). The results indicated that the vitamin C and protein powder increased As bioaccessibility in gastric digests. In the colon phase, As bioaccessibility was observably enhanced by protein powder, and it varied under the vitamin C and glucose conditions. Additionally, the order of As methylation percentages in the four nutritional states was protein powder > vitamin C > fasted state > glucose (except S2); As bioaccessibility increased 1.3–13.7% and 15.8–35.4% in treatments of the vitamin C and protein powder, respectively. Meanwhile, large amounts of monomethylarsonic acid (MMAV) were observed in the colon digest in the protein powder condition. In contrast, As methylation was significantly decreased with the addition of glucose, with a decline of 25.9–45.5%. Additionally, glucose enhanced the reduction of As(V). Therefore, nutritional status is a crucial parameter for the prediction of bioaccessibility and speciation of As when assessing health risks from As following oral exposure.