Gradient, 20 University Road, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
Gradient, 20 University Road, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2014 Oct 15;496:299-313. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.07.032. Epub 2014 Aug 1.
Arsenic (As) can exist in the environment in several different forms, each having unique chemical characteristics that influence its toxicity and potential for human and ecological exposure. Within the last decade or so, the focus on speciated As (both the inorganic and organic forms) and its potential toxicity has led to an increased availability of data on speciated As in different food types. To gain an understanding of these developments and the current science, we evaluated the state of knowledge regarding As speciation in food and calculated the average levels of several species of As measured in food. Because inorganic arsenic (inAs) is considered the most toxicologically important form of As, we focused our analysis on papers presenting information on total inAs and speciated inAs (inAs(3+) or inAs(5+)). We also evaluated speciated As forms (e.g., monomethylarsonic and dimethylarsinic acid) when presented with inAs information. Publications were drawn from the peer-reviewed literature and reports by authoritative health agencies. While a great deal of speciation data were identified, including over 6500 unique inAs data points, unclear study methodology and inconsistencies between studies introduced uncertainty into the analysis of these data. Despite these limitations, our analysis demonstrates that inAs in foods can vary widely by type and even by sample, with mean inAs concentrations ranging from undetectable (in milk) to 11,000 μg/kg (in seaweed/algae). We found a high percentage of non-measurable As in many food types, suggesting that the limits of detection of speciated As must be considered to accurately estimate dietary As exposure. The applicability of our analysis is limited by the inconsistencies and uncertainties in the available data; calculations of inAs dietary intake should be tailored to the study population of interest and should consider study quality.
砷（As）在环境中以几种不同的形式存在，每种形式都具有独特的化学特性，影响其毒性和人类及生态暴露的可能性。在过去十年左右的时间里，人们对形态砷（无机和有机形式）及其潜在毒性的关注，导致了不同类型食物中形态砷数据的可用性增加。为了了解这些发展和当前的科学，我们评估了食物中砷形态的知识现状，并计算了食物中几种砷形态的平均水平。由于无机砷（inAs）被认为是砷最具毒理学重要性的形式，我们将分析重点放在了报告总 inAs 和形态 inAs（inAs(3+) 或 inAs(5+)）信息的论文上。当有 inAs 信息时，我们还评估了形态砷形式（例如，一甲基砷酸和二甲基砷酸）。出版物来自同行评议文献和权威健康机构的报告。虽然确定了大量的形态数据，包括超过 6500 个独特的 inAs 数据点，但研究方法不明确和研究之间的不一致性给这些数据的分析带来了不确定性。尽管存在这些限制，但我们的分析表明，食物中的 inAs 类型甚至样本之间差异很大，inAs 浓度平均值范围从不可检测（牛奶）到 11000μg/kg（海藻/藻类）。我们发现许多食物类型中有很高比例的不可测量的 As，这表明必须考虑形态砷的检测限，以准确估计膳食砷暴露。由于现有数据的不一致性和不确定性，我们的分析适用性受到限制；inAs 膳食摄入量的计算应根据感兴趣的研究人群进行调整，并应考虑研究质量。
