Risks associated with the consumption of inorganic and organic arsenic

Abstract

It is known that the chronic intake of arsenic (As) leads to the development of multisystem pathologies. In the case of high levels of As consumption, the risks of negative effects of exposure to inorganic and methylated forms persist for decades. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has established that all inorganic forms of As are absolute carcinogens (group 1). Methylated forms of As are classified as substances possibly carcinogenic to humans (group 2b). Not metabolized in the human body forms of organic As are not carcinogenic to humans (group 3). The aim - assessment of health risks of various forms of As contained in food, including seafood. Material and methods. The scientific data regarding the risks associated with As contamination of food obtained by using PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar databases, legislative and regulatory acts of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Russian Federation, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the European Union and other coun tries have been analyzed. Results. The analysis of the available data showed that the degree of As toxicity decreased in the following order: glutathione of dimethylarsonic acid (DMAIIIGl) > methylarsic acid (MMAIII) > dimethylarsic acid (DMAIII) > arsenic hydrocarbons (AsHC) > arsenite (AsIII) > arsenate (AsV) > trimethylarsine (TMAIII) > methylarsonic acid (MMAV) > dimethylarsonic acid (DMAV) > DMAIII-sugar glyceride > DMAV-sugar glyceride > thio compounds of DMAV > arsenosugarsIII > arsenosugarsV > tetramethylarsonium chloride (TETPA) > trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO), arsenocholine (AsC) > arsenobetaine (AB). Consequently, the toxicity of some methylated and organic forms of As (for example, DMAIIIGl, AsHC) may be higher than that of its inorganic forms. It is known that As is found in foods mainly in organic forms. When ingested with food, As organic forms are metabolized and, thus, could cause a number of negative effects in the organism. Conclusion. High levels of organic and inorganic forms of As in food, including seafood, could have a negative impact on the health of the population, which makes it necessary to conduct additional assessments of the health risks of various forms of As entering the body. The insufficient amount of data on the toxicity of organic forms of As indicates the impossibility of separate setting of safety maximum levels for organic and inorganic forms of As in foods.