Urinary excretion of arsenicals following daily intake of various seafoods during a two weeks intervention

The excretion pattern of arsenic (As) species after seafood intake varies widely depending on species ingested and individual handling. We have previously reported the 72 h urinary excretion of arsenicals following a single dose of seafood. Here, we report the excretion patterns in the same 37 subjects following 15 days daily consumption of either 150 g cod, salmon, blue mussels or potato (control), followed by a 72 h period with a low-As diet. In all seafood groups, total As (tAs) in plasma and urinary excretion of tAs, arsenobetaine (AB) and dimethylarsinate (DMA) increased significantly after the intervention. Confirming the single dose study AB and DMA excreted were apparently endogenously formed from other arsenicals ingested. Total tAs excretion was 1386, 763 and 303 μg in the cod, blue mussel and salmon groups, respectively; about twice the amounts after the single dose study indicating accumulation of arsenicals. In the cod group, rapid excretion after the single dose was associated with lower total As in blood and less accumulation after two weeks with seafood indicating lower accumulation. In the blue mussels group only, inorganic As (iAs) excretion increased significantly, whilst methylarsonate (MA) strongly increased, indicating a possible toxicological concern of repeated mussel consumption.