Despite its nutritional values, rice also contains arsenic. There has been increasing concern about health implications associated with exposure to arsenic through rice consumption. The present study evaluated arsenic accumulation and its speciation in selected organs of Wistar rats after 28 day repeated oral administrations of polished or unpolished rice and their control arsenic compounds (sodium arsenite or dimethylarsinic acid; DMA). Only the treatment of sodium arsenite (2 μg/kg body weight), significantly increased total arsenic concentrations in blood when compared to the distilled water control group. In all groups, total arsenic concentrations were highest in kidney (1.54-1.90 mg/kg) followed by liver (0.85-1.52 mg/kg), and the predominant arsenic form in these organs was DMA. However, there was no significant difference in arsenic accumulation in the measured organs among the control and rice-treated groups. Therefore, the repeated 28 day administration of arsenic-contaminated rice did not cause significant arsenic accumulation in the animal organs.
Keywords: arsenic accumulation; arsenic speciation; arsenic-contaminated rice; rice extract.