Gap analysis of nickel bioaccessibility and bioavailability in different food matrices and its impact on the nickel exposure assessment

Mehrnoosh Babaahmadifooladi; Liesbeth Jacxsens; Tom Van de Wiele; Gijs Du Laing

doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2019.108866

Gap analysis of nickel bioaccessibility and bioavailability in different food matrices and its impact on the nickel exposure assessment

Food Res Int. 2020 Mar:129:108866. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2019.108866. Epub 2019 Dec 2.

Authors

Mehrnoosh Babaahmadifooladi¹, Liesbeth Jacxsens², Tom Van de Wiele³, Gijs Du Laing⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium; Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: mebabaah.babaahmadifooladi@ugent.be.
² Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: liesbeth.jacxsens@ugent.be.
³ Center for Microbial Ecology and Technology (CMET), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: tom.vandewiele@ugent.be.
⁴ Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Electronic address: gijs.dulaing@ugent.be.

PMID: 32036919
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2019.108866

Abstract

The metal nickel is well known to cause nickel allergy in sensitive humans by prolonged dermal contact to materials releasing (high) amounts of nickel. Oral nickel exposure via water and food intake is of potential concern. Nickel is essential to plants and animals and can be naturally found in food products or contamination may occur across the agro-food chain. This gap analysis is an evaluation of nickel as a potential food safety hazard causing a risk for human health. In the first step, the available data regarding the occurrence of nickel and its contamination in food and drinks have been collected through literature review. Subsequently, a discussion is held on the potential risks associated with this contamination. Elevated nickel concentrations were mostly found in plant-based foods, e.g. legumes and nuts in which nickel of natural origin is expected. However, it was observed that dedicated and systematic screening of foodstuffs for the presence of nickel is currently still lacking. In a next step, published studies on exposure of humans to nickel via foods and drinks were critically evaluated. Not including bioaccessibility and/or bioavailability of the metal may lead to an overestimation of the exposure of the body to nickel via food and drinks. This overestimation may be problematic when the measured nickel level in foods is high and bioaccessibility and/or bioavailability of nickel in these products is low. Therefore, this paper analyzes the outcomes of the existing dietary intake and bioaccessibility/bioavailability studies conducted for nickel. Besides, the available gaps in nickel bioaccessibility and/or bioavailability studies have been clarified in this paper. The reported bioaccessibility and bioavailability percentages for different food and drinks were found to vary between <LOD and 83% and between 0 and 30% respectively. This indicates that of the total nickel contained in the foodstuffs only a fraction can be absorbed by the intestinal epithelium cells. This paper provides a unique critical overview on nickel in the human diet starting from factors affecting its occurrence in food until its absorption by the body.

Keywords: Bioaccessibility; Bioavailability; Dietary intake assessment; Exposure assessment; Nickel.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Biological Availability
Food Analysis / methods*
Hypersensitivity*
Nickel / chemistry*
Nickel / pharmacokinetics*
Plants / chemistry*

Substances

Nickel