Khan Shafiqul Islam, Ahmed A K Mottashir, Yunus Mohammad, Rahman Mahfuzar, Hore Samar Kumar, Vahter Marie, Wahed M A
Laboratory Sciences Division, ICDDR,B, Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh.
J Health Popul Nutr. 2010 Dec;28(6):578-84. doi: 10.3329/jhpn.v28i6.6606.
Arsenic contamination of tubewell water is a major public-health problem in Bangladesh. In the recent years, the use of shallow and deep tubewell water for irrigation and the use of excess amount of cheap fertilizers and pesticides containing cadmium pose a serious threat of contamination of arsenic and cadmium in food. In an exploratory study, arsenic and cadmium were measured in foods from Matlab, a rural area in Bangladesh, that is extensively affected by arsenic and the economy is agriculture-based. Raw and cooked food samples were collected from village homes (households, n=13) and analyzed to quantify concentrations of arsenic and cadmium using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Washing rice with water before cooking reduced the concentration of arsenic in raw rice by 13-15%. Rice, when cooked with excess water discarded, showed a significant decrease in arsenic concentration compared to that cooked without discarding the water (p<0.001). In contrast, concentration of cadmium did not decrease in cooked rice after discarding water. Cooked rice with discarded water had significantly lower concentration of arsenic compared to raw rice (p=0.002). Raw rice had higher concentration of arsenic compared to raw vegetables (p<0.001); however, no such difference was found for cadmium. Compared to raw vegetables (e.g. arum), concentration of arsenic increased significantly (p=0.024) when cooked with arsenic-contaminated water. Thus, the practice of discarding excess water while cooking rice reduces the concentration of arsenic but not of cadmium in cooked rice. However, water generally not discarded when cooking vegetables to avoid loss of micronutrients consequently retains arsenic. The results suggest that arsenic and cadmium have entered the food-chain of Bangladesh, and the cooking practices influence the concentration of arsenic but not of cadmium in cooked food.
管井水的砷污染是孟加拉国一个重大的公共卫生问题。近年来，使用浅层和深层管井水进行灌溉以及使用过量含镉的廉价化肥和农药，对食品中的砷和镉污染构成了严重威胁。在一项探索性研究中，对来自孟加拉国一个农村地区马特拉布的食品中的砷和镉进行了测量，该地区受到砷的广泛影响且经济以农业为基础。从乡村家庭（共13户）采集了生熟食品样本，并使用原子吸收分光光度法进行分析以量化砷和镉的浓度。烹饪前用水淘米可使生米中的砷浓度降低13 - 15%。煮饭时倒掉多余的水，与煮饭时不倒掉水相比，砷浓度显著降低（p<0.001）。相比之下，倒掉水后熟米饭中的镉浓度并未降低。倒掉水的熟米饭中的砷浓度与生米相比显著更低（p = 0.002）。生米中的砷浓度高于生蔬菜（p<0.001）；然而，镉没有这种差异。与生蔬菜（如芋头）相比，用受砷污染的水烹饪时砷浓度显著增加（p = 0.024）。因此，煮饭时倒掉多余的水这种做法可降低熟米饭中的砷浓度，但不能降低镉浓度。然而，煮蔬菜时一般不会倒掉水以避免微量营养素流失，结果砷得以保留。结果表明，砷和镉已进入孟加拉国的食物链，烹饪方式会影响熟食品中砷的浓度，但不会影响镉的浓度。
