Wild shrimp have an order of magnitude higher arsenic concentrations than farmed shrimp from Brazil illustrating the need for a regulation based on inorganic arsenic

Wladiana O Matos; Francisco L F da Silva; Savarin Sinaviwat; Emma J Menzies; Andrea Raab; Eva M Krupp; Joerg Feldmann

doi:10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.126968

Wild shrimp have an order of magnitude higher arsenic concentrations than farmed shrimp from Brazil illustrating the need for a regulation based on inorganic arsenic

J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2022 May:71:126968. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.126968. Epub 2022 Feb 26.

Authors

Wladiana O Matos¹, Francisco L F da Silva¹, Savarin Sinaviwat², Emma J Menzies³, Andrea Raab⁴, Eva M Krupp², Joerg Feldmann⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratório de Estudos em Química Aplicada (LEQA), Departamento de Química Analítica e Físico-Química, Centro de Ciências, Campus do Pici, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE 60455-760, Brazil.
² Trace Element Speciation Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Meston Walk, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK.
³ TESLA - Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria.
⁴ Trace Element Speciation Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Meston Walk, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK; TESLA - Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria.
⁵ Trace Element Speciation Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, Meston Walk, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK; TESLA - Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 1, 8010 Graz, Austria. Electronic address: joerg.feldmann@uni-graz.at.

PMID: 35259617
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2022.126968

Abstract

Background: Shrimp is a worldwide food commodity, it is a source of several nutrients and vitamins; however, this food is one of the major sources of arsenic for humans. Legislation around the world set limits for the concentration of this element in crustaceans but is mainly concerned with total analysis. Although, arsenic species have different toxicities and total analysis could be ineffective for making decisions about food security.

Methods: Samples of wild (Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis) and farmed shrimps (Litopenaeus vannamei) from NE Brazil were fractionated in subsamples of carapace, muscle tissue and viscera. The whole shrimp as well as the animal tissue fractions were decomposed using microwave digestion and total arsenic was analyzed by mass spectrometry inductively coupled plasm (ICP-MS). The water-soluble arsenic species were extracted, and the extract was carried for speciation analysis using HPLC-ICP-MS with an anionic and cationic column.

Results: Total As in wild shrimp samples exceeded Brazilian and USA food legislation by one order of magnitude, with concentrations of 11.5 ± 0.5 mg kg^-1, while farmed shrimp had significantly lower total arsenic levels (0.53 ± 0.09 mg kg^-1). More than 60% of the As was in the edible fraction in the wild shrimp, while in farmed shrimp this was less than 50%. The speciation analysis showed that arsenobetaine (AsB) was the predominant As form and iAs was below the Chinese legislation levels (iAs <0.50 mg kg^-1) for shrimp in both species.

Conclusion: The arsenic uptake in wild and farmed shrimp was discussed and some differences were found related to feed and salinity. About legislation, it has been concluded that most food legislations that consider only tAs are not appropriate to assess the toxicity of As in seafood. It is necessary to update the legislation of food control agencies to insert As speciation analysis in their protocols.

Keywords: Aquaculture; Arsenic; HPLC-ICP-MS; Inorganic arsenic; Shrimp; Speciation.

MeSH terms

Animals
Arsenic* / analysis
Arsenicals*
Brazil
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / methods
Humans
Mass Spectrometry / methods
Seafood / analysis

Substances

Arsenic
Arsenicals