We report results from the first investigation of the human metabolism of arsenic-containing lipids (arsenolipids), significant arsenic constituents of some seafood products. Two male volunteers ingested canned cod liver and the arsenic metabolites in their urine were monitored by high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry over a 66-h period. Volunteer A consumed 85 g (wet mass) of cod liver containing a total of approximately 120 microg arsenic, 77% of which was present as arsenolipids, and volunteer B consumed 85 g (wet mass) of cod liver, 25% of which was present as arsenolipids, together with 20 g of cod liver oil, containing a total of about 180 microg arsenic. The structures of the arsenolipids are currently unknown, whereas the majority of the non-lipid arsenic in the cod liver was identified as arsenobetaine, which was excreted unchanged. The arsenolipids were rapidly metabolised to water-soluble compounds and excreted in the urine; peak arsenic concentrations were recorded between 7 and 15 h (volunteer A) and between 6.5 and 15 h (volunteer B), and by the end of the experiment about 90% of the ingested arsenic had been accounted for in the urine for both volunteers. The major arsenolipid metabolite was dimethylarsinate (DMA), constituting 73% (volunteer A) or 41% (volunteer B) of the total urinary arsenic, and most of the remaining arsenolipid-derived arsenic, constituting about 10% (volunteer A) and 5% (volunteer B), comprised four novel arsenic-containing fatty acids, namely oxo-dimethylarsenopropanoic acid, thio-dimethylarsenopropanoic acid, oxo-dimethylarsenobutanoic acid, and thio-dimethylarsenobutanoic acid. Unchanged arsenobetaine (15% for volunteer A and 51% for volunteer B) made up the remaining urinary arsenic together with trace quantities of other, mostly unknown, arsenicals. In a second experiment (volunteer A only), performed with pure cod liver oil, which contains only arsenolipids, DMA and the same four arsenic fatty acids were excreted in the urine. The study shows that arsenolipids in cod liver are bioavailable, and that they are quickly biotransformed to several water-soluble arsenicals, the structures of which suggest that the native arsenolipids contain a dimethylarsine oxide moiety.

It is generally accepted that the use of the hydride generation method to produce volatile analytes from arsenic compounds is restricted to the two inorganic forms (As(III) and As(V)) and the three simple methylated species methylarsonate (MA), dimethylarsinate (DMA), and trimethylarsine oxide. We report here that arsenosugars, major arsenic compounds in marine organisms, produce volatile analytes by the hydride generation (HG) method without a prior mineralization/oxidation step and that they can be quantitatively determined using HPLC-HG-ICPMS. The hydride generation efficiency depends on the type of hydride generation system and is influenced by the concentration of HCl and NaBH(4). For the four arsenosugars investigated, the hydride generation efficiencies were approximately 21-28% (or 4-6%, depending on the HG system) that obtained for As(III) under conditions optimized for As(III). This hydride efficiency was less than that shown by MA ( approximately 68% relative to As(III)) and DMA ( approximately 75%) but greater than that displayed by As(V) ( approximately 18%). Analysis of two species of brown algae, Fucus serratus and Hizikia fusiforme, by HPLC-HG-ICPMS produced results comparable with those obtained from other techniques used in our laboratory (HPLC-ICPMS and LC-ESMS for F. serratus) and with results from other laboratories taking part in a round robin exercise (H. fusiforme). This study shows for the first time the quantitative determination of arsenosugars using the hydride generation method without a decomposition step and has considerable implications for analytical methods for determining inorganic arsenic based on the formation of volatile hydrides.

Two novel thio arsenosugars have been identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry as significant arsenic constituents in samples of mussels.

Is fish a healthy food? Arsenolipids present in cod liver are metabolized by humans to arsenic‐containing fatty acids. Four of these metabolites were identified in human urine after consumption of cod liver and characterized by mass spectrometry and chromatography.

Lipid-soluble arsenicals (arsenolipids) occur in a wide range of biological samples where they may play a key role in the biosynthesis of organoarsenic compounds from inorganic arsenic. The study of these compounds has been hindered, however, by the lack of a suitable analytical technique able to separate and measure the various lipid species. As a source of arsenolipids, we used 10 crude fish oils from various regions of the world. Total arsenic analyses on the fish oils, performed with ICPMS following acid digestion with microwave-assisted heating, gave concentrations from 4.3 to 10.5 mg As kg(-1). All of the arsenic was soluble in non-polar solvents such as hexane. Analysis of the fish oils for arsenolipids was performed by normal phase HPLC-ICPMS with various mixtures of organic solvents as mobile phases. Inherent problems of instability associated with the introduction of organic solvents to the plasma were overcome by the use of reduced column flow, a chilled spray chamber, and the addition of oxygen directly to the plasma. All ten fish oils appeared to contain the same 4-6 major arsenolipids, but in varying amounts depending on the origin of the fish. Further chromatography with both normal phase and reversed-phase conditions on some of the oils indicated the presence of many more minor arsenolipids. Quantification was achieved by external calibration against triphenylarsine oxide or triphenylarsine sulfide, and the sum of species following HPLC of the oils matched well the total arsenic results (92-107%). The method was applied to samples of food supplements (fish oil capsules) and a packaged food product (cod liver) whereby arsenolipids were measured and found to be significant arsenic constituents. This study represents the first attempt to directly measure intact arsenolipids and, with appropriate sample preparation, may be suitable for quantitative measurement of these arsenicals in a range of biological samples, including foodstuffs.