Development of an Ion Chromatography–Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry Method To Determine Inorganic Arsenic in Liver from Chickens Treated with Roxarsone

Abstract

Roxarsone, (4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)arsonic acid, is an arsenic-containing compound that has been approved as a feed additive for poultry and swine since the 1940s; however, little information is available regarding residual arsenic species present in edible tissues. We developed a novel method for the extraction and quantification of arsenic species in chicken liver. A strongly basic solution solubilized the liver, and ultrafiltration removed macromolecules and particulate material. Ion chromatography separated the species [arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, (4-hydroxy-3-aminophenyl)arsonic acid, (4-hydroxy-3-acetaminophenyl)arsonic acid, and roxarsone] in the extracts, which were then detected by inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The extraction oxidized most arsenite to arsenate. For fortification concentrations at 2 μg kg–1 and above, recoveries ranged from 70 to 120%, with relative standard deviations from 7 to 34%. We detected roxarsone, its 3-amino and 3-acetamido metabolites, inorganic arsenic, and additional unknown arsenic species in livers from roxarsone-treated chickens. Both the originating laboratory and a second laboratory validated the method.

Organoarsenicals in poultry litter: Detection, fate, and toxicity

“…Organoarsenicals have been detected in solid media, such as animal litter (Jackson and Bertsch, 2001;Garbarino et al, 2003;Rosal et al, 2005;Yao et al, 2009a;D'Angelo et al, 2012), agricultural soils (Woolson, 1975;Covey et al, 2010;Liu et al, 2013;Yao et al, 2013b); liquids like agricultural runoff , groundwater (Daus et al, 2008;Hempel et al, 2009), and urine/blood of animals (Overby and Fredrickson, 1965;Xie et al, 2006); and biological tissues (Croteau et al, 1994;Dean et al, 1994;Schmidt et al, 2008;Monasterio et al, 2011;Conklin et al, 2012). Extraction of organoarsenicals from environment samples must ensure high recovery without compromising the arsenic speciation chemistry (i.e., organic vs. inorganic).…”

Enzyme-assisted extraction and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry for the determination of arsenic species in chicken meat

“…Recently, there has been much attention paid to the determination of arsenic in rice and chicken because of the relatively high concentrations of arsenic in these food items [25][26][27][28][29][30]. The source of arsenic in chickens is mainly due to the use of Roxarsone (Rox), an organoarsenical, as a feed additive to control infection and promote growth of chickens [29].…”

“…Chicken is one of the most consumed meats, and it may contribute a considerable amount of arsenic to the total dietary exposure. However, little is known about the arsenic speciation in chicken meat [12,30,31]. The primary objective of this research was to develop a method that enables the determination of arsenic species present in chicken meat at trace concentrations.…”

“…The concentration of arsenic in chicken meat has been reported to be on the order of sub-mg kg À1 [12,30,31]. The concentrations of individual arsenic species in chicken meat are expected to be on the order of mg kg À1 .…”

Poultry Consumption and Arsenic Exposure in the U.S. Population

“…(Arai et al 2003;Garbarino et al 2003;Jackson and Bertsch 2001). Elevated total and inorganic arsenic is found in poultry tissues and meat after treatment with arsenicals (Conklin et al 2012;, and conventionally produced poultry is known to have higher levels of total and inorganic arsenic than organic and antibiotic-free poultry (Nachman et al 2013). In chicken feeding experiments, a roxarsone diet resulted in elevated iAs, MMA, DMA, and roxarsone compared with a roxarsone-free diet (Liu et al 2016).…”