Arsenic intake

Schoof, R.A., L.J. Yost, E. Crecelius, K. Irgolic, W. Goessler, H.R. Guo, and H. Greene. 1998. Dietary arsenic intake in Taiwanese districts with elevated arsenic in drinking water. Human Ecol. Risk Assess. 4 117-135. 

Tao, S.S.-H. and Bolger, P.M. (1999) Dietary arsenic intakes in the United States FDA Total Diet Study, September 1991-December 1996. Food Additives and Contaminants, 16(8), 465-72. 

Although arsenic is very widely distributed in the environment, humans are exposed to low levels of this element. Although human exposure to arsenic can come through food, water, and air, the largest source of arsenic intake (approximately 25-50 11.g/clay) is from food. Some edible fish and shellfish do contain elevated levels of arsenic, but this is predominantly in an organic form ( fish arsenic ). Humans are exposed to levels of arsenic in different situations.22 For instance ... 

The ultratrace element consumption per kg body weight shows that the tolerable daily intakes of humans with mixed and vegetarian diets do not exceed the threshold levels (Table 4.18). There is one exception the arsenic intake of people with mixed... 

Food Chain, Arsenic Intake from Food Total diet studies with arsenic were performed in a number of countries (e.g., Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Japan, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK and USA for Germany see note below). As the results of these studies agreed in the proportions of As in seafood to As in other foods and also in the total As intake quite well, only some typical examples will be discussed here. 

Llobet et al. (2003) estimated the daily arsenic intake by children, adolescents, male and female adults and seniors of Catalonia, Spain by dividing food into eleven groups. For male adults, the total As was... 

Tab. 6.5 Food intake and arsenic intake through the diet of male adults collected in seven cities in Catalonia, Spain (listed in order of As intake) (Llobet et al. 2003)...

In routine analysis, arsenic in urine is usually determined. Recently, Karagas etal. (2002) proposed the use of toenail arsenic concentrations as a reliable biomarker of total As exposure reflecting arsenic intake by drinking water containing > 1 pg L kThe authors mentioned that urinary As may not be detected consistently in a population for which drinking water contents are primarily < 50 pg so that toenails may better provide risk information... 

Mohri, T., Hisanaga, A. and Ishinishi (1990). Arsenic intake and excretion by Japanese adults a 7-day duplicate diet study. Fd Chem. Toxic. 521-529. 

In mammals, arsenic intake derives from food and drinking water, inspired air and absorption through the skin. The chemical form of arsenic and its solubility affect the absorption of the element in mammals and its transfer into the bloodstream. According to Leonard (1991), the normal arsenic content in human blood is about 4 ng/ml. However, an average arsenic value of 7.9 ng/ml and a range of 0.4-70.5 ng/ml were reported by Minoia et al. (1990), who analyzed blood samples of 470 healthy Italians. 

The remarkable influence of methods of analysis on estimates of arsenic intake is shown by an evaluation of the data given by Jelinek and Corneliussen (] ) summarizing the arsenic content of FDA s "total diet" composites during the reporting periods of 1967... 

The toxic effect of arsenic intake at high doses is mainly due to its blocking the function of sulfur containing enzymes by binding to them, with the characteristic symptoms of vomiting, colic, diarrhoea and dehydration. In addition, arsenic is chemically very similar to phosphorus, and partly substitutes for it in biochemical reactions. 

Creatine SH groups of the skin retain up to 30% of the absorbed arsenic. Parts of this are later located in hair and nails. Periods of higher arsenic intake cause higher concentrations of arsenic in limited areas of the hair. Controls in the hair of infants during the first year of infancy demonstrated that the levels of arsenic in hair depend first on the arsenic content of food [56]. Four weeks after ingestion As is localized mainly as As(V) in bone substituting for phosphate [9,12,19]. 

Su CC, Lu JL, Tsai KY, Lian leB. Reduction in arsenic intake from water has different impacts on lung cancer and bladder cancer in an arseniasis endemic area in Taiwan. Cancer Causes Control 2011 22(1) 101-8. 

Arsenic-induced oxidative stress is well established and is known to play important role in onset or progression of various pathological manifestations. Various oxidative stress-related markers may not prove to be specific biomarkers in arsenic toxicity but they may contribute as important parameters to diagnose early signs of arsenic-induced adverse effects [23 ]. A study with 157 participants in China demonstrated a positive correlation between the levels of serum thioredoxinl and the total water arsenic intake or the levels of urinary arsenic species. Authors suggested that since changes in human serum thioredoxinl can be detected before arsenic-specific dermatological symptoms, it may serve as an early biomarker for the same [24 ]. 

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