OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to develop an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of inorganic arsenic [As(III) and As(V)] and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) in urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the biological monitoring of exposure to inorganic arsenic. METHODS Arsenic compounds (after reduction of arsenic to the trivalent state) were derivatiz...

Arsenic compounds are often naturally present in water and food.12 A new study estimates Americans’ inorganic arsenic exposures from drinking water and rice—a food that may contain arsenic—and concludes that rice consumption may account for as much inorganic arsenic exposure as drinking water in some U.S. populations. At high levels, long-term exposures to inorganic forms of arsenic are strongl...

BACKGROUND The most prominent non-occupational source of exposure to methylmercury is the consumption of fish. In this study we examine a fish consuming population to determine the extent of temporal exposure and investigate the extent to which single time estimates of methylmercury exposure based on blood-Hg concentration can provide reliable estimates of longer-term average exposure. METHOD...

Arsenic uptake and translocation studies on xylem sap focus generally on the concentration and speciation of arsenic in the xylem. Arsenic impact on the xylem sap metabolite profile and its production during short term exposure has not been reported in detail. To investigate this, cucumbers were grown hydroponically and arsenate (As(V)) and DMA were used for plant treatment for 24 h. Total arse...

BACKGROUND According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), fish, seafood and seaweeds are foodstuffs that significantly contribute to dietary arsenic intake. With the exception of some algal species, the dominant compounds of arsenic in such food products are the less toxic organic forms. Both the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and EFSA recommend that speciatio...

The importance of arsenic detection techniques has received significant attention of researchers during recent years due to its carcinogenic effects on human health through drinking water even at low concentration. There are various arsenic detection techniques used in laboratory that have detection limit below 1μg/L viz., Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (HGAAS), Graphite Furn...

Chronic exposure of humans to high concentrations of arsenic in drinking water is associated with skin lesions, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, blackfoot disease and a high risk of cancer. Arsenic induces single strand breaks, DNA-protein crosslinks and apurinic sites in DNA, which are prerequisites for induction of cancer. Amelioration of such damages with natural compounds could be...