Ingestion of Hijiki seaweed and risk of arsenic poisoning

The major route of human exposure to arsenic is via ingestion. Seafoods contain large amounts of various arsenic compounds. Recently, people have been advised not to eat Hijiki seaweed (Hijikia fusiforme) in the UK because of its high content of inorganic arsenic (iAs). To clarify the risks of Hijiki ingestion, a 42-year-old male volunteer ingested 825 μg of iAs compounds contained in eight servings of commercial Hijiki food, after refraining from eating seafood for 3 months. In order to determine the distribution of arsenic species in his urine, arsenic compounds were analyzed using HPLC-ICP-MS. The maximum concentrations of arsenate (AsV), arsenite (AsIII), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) were found at 4, 6.5, 13 and 17.5 h after ingestion, respectively. Arsenobetaine concentration was very low, and almost constant throughout the observation period. A total of 28% of ingested arsenic was excreted in urine. The total amounts of AsV, AsIII, MMA and DMA excreted in urine over 50 h were 11.2, 31.8, 40.9 and 104.0 μg, respectively. After eating one serving of Hijiki, arsenic intake and urinary excretion were at levels similar to those in individuals affected by arsenic poisoning. Long-term ingestion of Hijiki might thus have the potential to cause arsenic poisoning.

[1]  R. Hondo,et al.  Simultaneous analysis for multiple heavy metals in contaminated biological samples , 2007, Biological Trace Element Research.

[2]  S. Hirata,et al.  Determination of Arsenic Species in Marine Samples by HPLC-ICP-MS , 2006, Analytical sciences : the international journal of the Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry.

[3]  J. Feldmann,et al.  Determination of Arsenic in Algae – Results of an Interlaboratory Trial: Determination of Arsenic Species in the Water-Soluble Fraction , 2005 .

[4]  S. Hirata,et al.  Determination of arsenic species and arsenosugars in marine samples by HPLC–ICP–MS , 2005, Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry.

[5]  W. Goessler,et al.  Novel thioarsenic metabolites in human urine after ingestion of an arsenosugar, 2',3'-dihydroxypropyl 5-deoxy-5-dimethylarsinoyl-beta-D-riboside. , 2005, Chemical research in toxicology.

[6]  J. Kirby,et al.  Arsenic occurrence and species in near-shore macroalgae-feeding marine animals. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[7]  D. Chakraborti,et al.  Arsenic contamination of groundwater and its health impact on residents in a village in West Bengal, India. , 2005, Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

[8]  K. Reimer,et al.  Arsenic speciation in human urine: are we all the same? , 2004, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[9]  S. Fukushima,et al.  Understanding arsenic carcinogenicity by the use of animal models. , 2004, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[10]  S. Hirano,et al.  The accumulation and toxicity of methylated arsenicals in endothelial cells: important roles of thiol compounds. , 2004, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[11]  D. DeMarini,et al.  Do arsenosugars pose a risk to human health? The comparative toxicities of a trivalent and pentavalent arsenosugar. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  G. Millward,et al.  Determination of arsenic species in fish, crustacean and sediment samples from Thailand using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). , 2004, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[13]  S. Fukushima,et al.  Determination of trivalent methylated arsenicals in rat urine by liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after solvent extraction. , 2004, Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences.

[14]  B. Yoda,et al.  Antioxidative activity of animal and vegetable dietary fibers , 2004, BioFactors.

[15]  R. Cornelis,et al.  Safety evaluation of organoarsenical species in edible Porphyra from the China Sea. , 2003, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry.

[16]  R. Cornelis,et al.  A survey of arsenic species in Chinese seafood. , 2003, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[17]  M. H. Smith,et al.  Arsenic in drinking water and skin lesions , 2003 .

[18]  M. H. Smith,et al.  Arsenic in Drinking Water and Skin Lesions: Dose-Response Data from West Bengal, India , 2003, Epidemiology.

[19]  M. Vahter.  Mechanisms of arsenic biotransformation. , 2002, Toxicology.

[20]  W. Goessler,et al.  Arsenic metabolites in human urine after ingestion of an arsenosugar. , 2002, Clinical chemistry.

[21]  M. Storelli,et al.  Total, organic, and inorganic arsenic in some commercial species of crustaceans from the Mediterranean Sea (Italy). , 2001, Journal of food protection.

[22]  K. Kuriki,et al.  Seaweed and Cancer Prevention , 2001, Japanese journal of cancer research : Gann.

[23]  C. Chen,et al.  Incidence of transitional cell carcinoma and arsenic in drinking water: a follow-up study of 8,102 residents in an arseniasis-endemic area in northeastern Taiwan. , 2001, American journal of epidemiology.

[24]  D. Chakraborti,et al.  Chronic Arsenic Toxicity in Bangladesh and West Bengal, India—A Review and Commentary , 2001, Journal of toxicology. Clinical toxicology.

[25]  T. Gebel.  Confounding variables in the environmental toxicology of arsenic. , 2000, Toxicology.

[26]  P. Bolger,et al.  Dietary arsenic intakes in the United States: FDA Total Diet Study, September 1991-December 1996. , 1999, Food additives and contaminants.

[27]  X. Le,et al.  Sample preparation and storage can change arsenic speciation in human urine. , 1999, Clinical chemistry.

[28]  Y. Inoue,et al.  Identification and quantification by LC-MS and LC-ICP MS of arsenic species in urine of rats chronically exposed to dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA) , 1999 .

[29]  A. Smith,et al.  Arsenic levels in drinking water and the prevalence of skin lesions in West Bengal, India. , 1998, International journal of epidemiology.

[30]  S. Fukushima,et al.  Urinary excretion of arsenic metabolites after long-term oral administration of various arsenic compounds to rats. , 1998, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[31]  X. Le,et al.  Effect of arsenosugar ingestion on urinary arsenic speciation. , 1998, Clinical chemistry.

[32]  T. H. Lin,et al.  Arsenic species in drinking water, hair, fingernails, and urine of patients with blackfoot disease. , 1998, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[33]  S. Fukushima,et al.  The Urinary Excretion of Arsenic Metabolites After a Single Oral Administration of Dimethylarsinic Acid to Rats , 1997, Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[34]  G. Endo,et al.  Metabolites of Arsenic Induced Tetraploids and Mitotic Arrest in Cultured Cells , 1997, Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[35]  D. Lison,et al.  Assessment of exposure to inorganic arsenic, a human carcinogen, due to the consumption of seafood , 1996, Archives of Toxicology.

[36]  J. Buchet,et al.  Assessment of exposure to inorganic arsenic following ingestion of marine organisms by volunteers. , 1994, Environmental research.

[37]  T. Kuo,et al.  Cancer potential in liver, lung, bladder and kidney due to ingested inorganic arsenic in drinking water. , 1992, British Journal of Cancer.

[38]  N. Ishinishi,et al.  Arsenic intake and excretion by Japanese adults: a 7-day duplicate diet study. , 1990, Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association.

[39]  T. Kaise,et al.  Metabolism and excretion of orally administered arsenobetaine in the hamster , 1986, Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[40]  E. Marafante,et al.  Metabolism of arsenobetaine in mice, rats and rabbits. , 1983, The Science of the total environment.

[41]  H. Roels,et al.  Comparison of the urinary excretion of arsenic metabolites after a single oral dose of sodium arsenite, monomethylarsonate, or dimethylarsinate in man , 1981, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[42]  H. Roels,et al.  Urinary excretion of inorganic arsenic and its metabolites after repeated ingestion of sodium metaarsenite by volunteers , 1981, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[43]  S. Charbonneau,et al.  Human retention studies with 74As. , 1980, Toxicology and applied pharmacology.

[44]  H. Roels,et al.  Comparison of several methods for the determination of arsenic compounds in water and in urine , 1980, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[45]  H. Yamauchi,et al.  [Urinary inorganic arsenic and methylarsenic excretion following arsenate-rich seaweed ingestion (author's transl)]. , 1979, Sangyo igaku. Japanese journal of industrial health.