Assessing the Bioavailability and Bioaccessibility of Total Arsenic and Arsenic Species in Environmental Samples

Studies on the bioavailability of As, of impacted vegetables; and As bioaccesibility in the edible parts of carrots (daucus carota), beets (beta vulgaris) and quinoa (chenopodium) growing in polluted soils thought “in vitro” gastrointestinal process; the As speciation both in the edible parts of vegetables and in their gastrointestinal extracts have been performed. Elemental analysis and As speciation have been performed by ICP-MS and LC-ICP-MS, respectively. The Arsenic recovery after the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion was from 98, 90 and 40% for carrots, beets and quinoa, respectively; with no significant transformation of original As species. These studies provide a clearer understanding of the impact that As and other contaminant elements may present in the population of this high polluted Chilean region.