Acute toxicity and metabolism of arsenocholine in mice

The acute toxicity of arsenocholine was examined in mice by oral administration and intravenous injection. The LD₅₀ values of arsenocholine were 6.5 g kg^?1 for oral administration and 187 mg kg^?1 for oral administration and 187 mg kg^?1 for intravenous injection. Decreases of respiration and spontaneous motility were observed in the mice dosed orally at 12 g kg^?1. The animals exhibited ataxia and finally showed paralysis of the hind legs within 20 min of administration. When arsenocholine was administered orally to mice at 5 or 50 mg As kg^?1, the greater part of the arsenic administered was recovered in urine within 96 h. The metabolite of arsenocholine in urine was identified as arsenobetaine by high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (HPLC ICP) and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB MS). These results suggested that the major part of orally administered arsenocholine was absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract in mice and then rapidly excreted in urine with biotransformation.     

Metabolism of arsenic compounds by the blue mussel mytilus edulis after accumulation from seawater spiked with arsenic compounds

Blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) were exposed to 100 μg As dm^?3 in the form of arsenite, arsenate, methylarsonic acid, dimethylarsinic acid, arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, trimethylarsine oxide, tetramethylarsonium iodide or dimethyl-(2-hydroxyethyl)arsine oxide in seawater for 10 days. The seawater was renewed and spiked with the arsenic compounds daily. Analyses of water samples taken 24 h after spiking showed that arsenobetaine and arsenocholine had been converted to trimethylarsine oxide, whereas trimethylarsine oxide and tetramethylarsonium iodide were unchanged. Arsenobetaine was accumulated by mussels most efficienty, followed in efficiency by arsenocholine and tetramethylarsonium iodide. None of the other arsenic compounds was significantly accumulated by the mussels. Extraction of mussel tissues with methanol revealed that control mussels contained arsenobetaine, a dimethyl-(5-ribosyl)arsine oxide and an additional arsenic compound, possibly dimethylarsinic acid. Mussels exposed to arsenobetaine contained almost all their experimentally accumulated arsenic as arsenobetaine, and mussels exposed to tetramethylarsonium iodide contained it as the tetramethylarsonium compound. Mussels exposed to arsenocholine had arsenobetaine as the major arsenic compound and glycerylphosphorylarsenocholine as a minor arsenic compound in their tissues. The results show that arsenobetaine and arsenocholine are efficiently accumulated from seawater by blue mussels and that in both cases the accumulated arsenic is present in the tissues as arsenobetaine. Consequently arsenobetaine and/or arsenocholine present at very low concentrations in seawater may be responsible for the presence of arsenobetaine in M. edulis and probably also among other marine animals. The quantity of arsenobetaine accumulated by the mussels decreases with increasing concentrations of betaine. HPLC-ICP-MS was found to be very powerful for the investigation of the metabolism of arsenic compounds in biological systems.     

Glutathione and methylation of inorganic arsenic in hamsters

The effect of giutathione (GSH) concentrations in livers and kidneys of hamsters on the toxicity and methylation of arsenite in these animals was studied. No significant changes in hepatic and renal GSH concentrations were observed after a single arsenite administration (5 mg As kg^?1, p.o.). When buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, was given (4 mmol kg^?1, i.p.) two hours before administration of arsenite, hepatic and renal GSH concentrations were more severely and persistently depressed than in the case of BSO administration not followed by arsenite. Hamsters treated with BSO plus arsenite suffered from severe nephrotoxicity (acute renal failure) characterized by increases in plasma creatinine and urea nitrogen and by proximal tubular necrosis. Concurrently, transient hepatotoxicity was observed in the BSO plus arsenite group. Neither arsenite alone nor BSO alone produced liver or kidney injury. The BSO plus arsenite-treated animals excreted in the urine only 3.5% of the arsenic dose during the 72 h period after administration of arsenite, probably because of a decrease in urine volume caused by kidney injury, whereas the arsenite-only group excreted 27%. In addition, BSO pretreatment influenced the relative proportion of arsenic metabolites excreted in the urine during the first 24 h after administration. Urinary metabolites in the BSO plus arsenite group were predominantly inorganic arsenic. These results suggest that GSH provides protection against arsenic toxicity.     

Interaction of arsenic and selenium on the metabolism of these elements in hamsters

The interaction of arsenic and selenium compounds on the metabolism of these elements in golden hamsters was studied. Golden hamsters were divided into three groups and administered sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃), sodium arsenite (NaAsO₂) and Na₂SeO₃ with NaAsO₂, respectively, by a single Subcutaneous injection of 25 m?mol kg^?1 body weight as As or Se (arsenic and selenium were calculated as weight of elemental arsenic and selenium). Selenium and arsenic metabolites were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography–graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (HPLC–GFA AA) and gas chromatography (GC). The results show (1): About 10% by weight of the given dose of selenium was excreted in expiration air as dimethylselenide (Me₂Se) during 12 h after administration of Na₂SeO₃. Excretion of dimethylselenide with the respiratory air was inhibited by administration of Na₂SeO₃ simultaneously with NaAsO₂. (2) Giving Na₂SeO₃ plus NaAsO₂ had no appreciable effect on the excretion of the trimethylselenonium ion (Me₃Se⁺) into the urine and the feces. (3) Giving Na₂SeO₃ plus NaAsO₂ increaed the excretion into the feces of an insoluble unknown-structure selenium compound, the proportion of which was 10.9% by weight of the given dose of selenium. (4) Giving NaAsO₂ plus Na₂SeO₃ decreased the excretion of dimethylarsinic acid (Me₂AsOOH) and inorganic arsenic into the urine during 120 h after the administration of the reagents, the decreased amount being 5.3% (dimethylarsinic acid) and 7.7% (inorganic arsenic) of the given dose of arsenic, respectively. (5) Giving NaAsO₂ plus Na₂SeO₃ increased the excretion into feces of insoluble unknown-structure arsenic compound and inorganic arsenic, the increased amounts being 10.6% and 7.0% of the given dose of arsenic, respectively. (6) Giving NaAsO₂ plus Na₂SeO₃ decreased the excretion into feces of extractable unknown-structure arsenic compound, and the decreased amount was 4.9% of the given dose of arsenic. (7) It made little difference to the excretion of monomethylarsonic acid [MeAsO(OH)₂] into urine and feces and of dimethylarsinic acid (Me₂AsOOH) into feces whether NaAsO₂ was administered alone or with Na₂SeO₃.     

The chemical form and acute toxicity of arsenic compounds in marine organisms

A method for the separation and identification of inorganic and methylated arsenic compounds in marine organisms was constructed by using a hydride generation/cold trap/gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HG/CT/GC MS) measurement system. The chemical form of arsenic compounds in marine organisms was examined by the HG/CT/GC MS system after alkaline digestion. It was observed that trimethylarsenic compounds were distributed mainly in the water-soluble fraction of muscle of carnivorous gastropods, crustaceans and fish. Also, dimethylated arsenic compounds were distributed in the water-soluble fraction of Phaeophyceae. It is thought that most of the trimethylated arsenic is likely to be arsenobetaine since this compound released trimethylarsine by alkaline digestion and subsequent reduction with sodium borohydride. The major arsenic compound isolated from the water-soluble fraction in the muscle and liver of sharks was identified as arsenobetaine from IR, FAB Ms data, NMR spectra and TLC behaviour. The acute toxicity of arsenobetaine was studied in male mice. The LD₅₀ value was higher than 10 g kg⁻¹. This compound was found in urine in the non-metabolized form. No particular toxic symptoms were observed following administration. These results suggest that arsenobetaine has low toxicity and is not metabolized in mice. The LD₅₀ values of other minor arsenicals in marine organisms, trimethylarsine oxide, arsenocholine and tetramethylarsonium salt, were also examined in mice.     

Identification of arsenobetaine and a tetramethylarsonium salt in the clam Meretrix lusoria

Chemical forms of arsenic were examined in six tissues (gill, mid-gut gland, siphon, foot, mantle and adductor muscle) of the clam Meretrix lusoria. The gill was found to contain higher levels of arsenic than the other tissues. Regardless of the nature of the tissues, the presence of arsenobetaine was established by HPLC0ICP; it was a minor arsenic compound in gill but a major one in the other tissues. The major arsenic compound in gill, which was more cationic than arsenobetaine, was obtained in a relatively pure state by ion-exchange chromatography, gel filtration and HPLC. It was positive to the Dragendorff reagent and iodine vapor but negative to ninhydrin reagent. Its ¹HNMR spectrum exhibited only one signal at δ 1.7 (singlet) and its FAB mass spectrum gave a base peak at m/e 135 [(CH₃)₄As⁺] and two significant peaks at m/e 120 [(CH₃)₃As] and 106 [(CH₃)₂AsH]. These results suggested that the major arsenic compound in gill exists as a tetramethylarsonium salt (CH₃)₄As⁺ · X^?. The tetramethylarsonium salt was also found as a minor component in the tissues other than the gill.     

Intake and excretion of disodium monomethylarsonate in horses: a speciation study

Capillary electrophoresis coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used in a speciation study on disodium monomethylarsonate (DS-MMA^V) and its metabolites in horses, to which the drug was administered by intramuscular injection on five consecutive days at a single arsenic dosage of 270 mg day⁻¹. Samples of urine, whole blood, plasma, and mane hair were analyzed before, during, and after drug administration. The data show that blood clearing and urinary excretion of MMA is a fast process following first-order kinetics with biological half-lives of about 38 h and 44 h for urine and plasma, respectively. In the time period of 9 days studied, the only metabolite detected in urine was dimethylarsinic acid (DMA^V), which 4 days after the last drug administration accounted for up to 75% of the total excreted arsenic species. This shows, for the first time, that biomethylation of MMA^V to DMA^V is the principal metabolic pathway of this drug in horses. Although DS-MMA^V was administered only during a short 5-day period, an up to six fold increase of arsenic could be measured in the newly grown mane hair.     

Decomposition of organoarsenic compounds for total arsenic determination in marine organisms by the hydride generation technique

The conditions necessary for the complete decomposition of six organic arsenic compounds, namely methylarsonic acid (MMAA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA), trimethylarsine oxide, tetramethylarsonium iodide, arsenocholine bromide (AsC) and arsenobetaine (AB), were investigated. The degree of decomposition of the arsenic compounds was monitored using a hydride generation (HYD) technique, because the response from this system depends strongly on the chemical species of arsenic, with inorganic arsenic (the expected product from these decomposition experiments) giving a much more intense HYD signal than the organic arsenic compounds. The arsenic compounds were decomposed by heating them with three types of acid mixture, namely HNO₃? HClO₄, HNO₃? HClO₄? HF, or HNO₃? HClO₄? H₂SO₄. Both MMAA and DMAA were decomposed completely using any of the mixed acids at a decomposition temperature of 200 °C or higher. The HNO₃? HClO₄? H₂SO₄ mixture was the most effective for decomposing AsC and AB, which are the most difficult compounds among all types of organic arsenic compound to decompose and render inorganic. The complete decomposition of AB was only achieved, however, when the temperature was 320 °C or higher, and the sample was evaporated to dryness. When the residue from this treatment was examined by high‐performance liquid chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry, all of the arsenic was found to be present as arsenic(V). The optimized conditions (HNO₃? HClO₄? H₂SO₄ at 320 °C) for decomposing AB were then used to determine the total amount of arsenic in marine organisms known to contain AB. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cytotoxicological aspects of organic arsenic compounds contained in marine products using the mammalian cell culture technique

Arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, trimethylarsine oxide and tetramethylarsonium iodide, which are contained in marine fishery products, were examined for their potencies on cell growth inhibition, chromosomal aberration and sister chromatid exchange (SCE). Arseno- betaine, the major water-soluble organic arsenic compound in marine animals, exhibited very low cytotoxicity towards mammalian cells. This compound showed no cell growth inhibition at a concentration of 10 mg cm⁻³ and the cytotoxicity was lower than 1/14 000th of that of sodium arsenite and 1/1600th of that of sodium arsenate towards BALB/c 3T3 cells. The chromosomal aberrations caused by arsenobetaine at a concentration of 10 mg cm⁻³ consisted mainly of chromatid gaps and chromatid breaks, but in this concentration chromosomal breakage owing to its osmotic pressure is likely to be considerable. No SCE was observed at a concentration of 1 mg cm⁻³. Arsenocholine and trimethylarsine oxide also showed no cell growth inhibited at a concentration of 10 mg cm⁻³. However, tetramethylarsonium iodide inhibition the growth of BALB/c 3T3 at a concentration of 8 mg cm⁻³. These compounds exhibited a low ability to induce chromosomal aberrations at a concentration range of 2–10 mg cm⁻³ and no SCE was observed at a concentration of 1.0 mg cm⁻³. These results suggested that the major and minor organic arsenic compounds contained in marine fishery products are much less cytotoxic inorganic arsenic, methylarsonic acid and dimethylarsinic acid. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Urinary arsenic species in an arsenic‐affected area of West Bengal,India (part III)

Arsenic contamination of groundwater has long been reported in the Mushidabad district of West Bengal, India. We visited 13 arsenic‐affected families in the Makrampur village of the Beldanga block in Mushidabad during 18–21 December 2001 and collected five shallow tubewell‐water samples used general household purposes, four deep tubewell‐water samples used for drinking and cooking purposes, and 44 urine samples from those families. The arsenic concentrations in the five shallow tubewell‐water samples ranged from 18.0 to 408.4 ppb and those in the four deep tubewell‐water samples were from 5.2 to 9.6 ppb. The average arsenite (arsenic(III)), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and arsenate (arsenic(V)) in urine were 28.7 ng mg^?1, 168.6 ng mg^?1, 25.0 ng mg^?1 and 4.6 ng mg^?1 creatinine respectively. The average total arsenic was 227.0 ng mg^?1 creatinine. On comparison of the ratio of (MMA + DMA) to total arsenic, the average proportion was 86.7 ± 9.2% (mean plus/minus to residual standard deviation, n = 43). The exception was data for one boy, whose proportion was 8.0%. One woman excreted the highest total arsenic, at 2890.0 ng mg^?1 creatinine. When using 43 of the urine samples (the exception being the one sample obtained from the boy) there were significantly positive correlations (p < 0.01) between arsenic(III) and MMA, between arsenic(III) and DMA and between MMA and DMA. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biomethylation and biotransformation of arsenic in a freshwater food chain: Green alga (chlorella vulgaris)→shrimp (neocaridina denticulata)→killifish (oryzias iatipes)

Tolerance, bioaccumulation, biotransformation and excretion of arsenic compounds by the fresh–water shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata) and the killifish (Oryzias latipes) (collected from the natural environment) were investigated. Tolerances (LC₅₀) of the shrimp against disodium arsenate [abbreviated as As(V)], methylarsonic acid (MAA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMAA), and arsenobetaine (AB) were 1.5, 10, 40, and 150μg As ml^?1, respectively. N. denticulata accumulated arsenic from an aqueous phase containing 1 μg As ml^?1 of As(V), 10 μg As ml^?1 of MAA, 30 μg As ml^?1 of DMAA or 150 μg As ml^?1 of AB, and biotransformed and excreted part of these species. Both methylation and demethylation of the arsenicals were observed in vivo. When living N. denticulata accumulating arsenic was transferred into an arsenic–free medium, a part of the accumulated arsenic was excreted. The concentration of methylated arsenicals relative to total arsenic was higher in the excrement than in the organism. Total arsenic accumulation in each species via food in the food chain Green algae (Chlorella vulgaris) → shrimp (N. denticulata) → killifish (O. latipes) decreased by one order of magnitude or more, and the concentration of methylated arsenic relative to total arsenic accumulated increased successively with elevation in the trophic level. Only trace amounts of monomethylarsenic species were detected in the shrimp and fish tested. Dimethylarsenic species in alga and shrimp, and trimethylarsenic species in killifish, were the predominant methylated arsenic species, respectively.     

Identification of Acepromazine and Its Metabolites in Horse Plasma and Urine by LC–MS/MS and Accurate Mass Measurement

Acepromazine maleate (Sedalin^?) was administered orally to six thoroughbred horses at a dose of 0.15?mg?kg^?1. Urine and blood samples were collected up to 412?h post-administration. Plasma and urine were hydrolysed; plasma samples were then processed using liquid–liquid extraction and urine samples using solid-phase extraction. A sensitive tandem mass spectrometric method was developed in this study, achieving a lower limit of quantification for acepromazine of 10?pg?mL^?1 in plasma and 100?pg?mL^?1 in urine. Acepromazine, hydroxyethylpromazine, hydroxyacepromazine, hydroxyethylpromazine sulphoxide, hydroxyethylhydroxypromazine, dihydroxyacepromazine and dihydroxyhydroxyethylpromazine were detected in the post-administration samples. The parent drug and its metabolites were identified using a combination of UPLC–MS/MS and accurate mass measurement. Separation of the structural isomers hydroxyethylpromazine sulphoxide and hydroxyethylhydroxypromazine was another significant outcome of this work and demonstrated the advantages to be gained from investing in chromatographic method development.     

Intake of different chemical species of dietary arsenic by the japanese,and their blood and urinary arsenic levels

We calculated the intake of each chemical species of dietary arsenic by typical Japanese, and determined urinary and blood levels of each chemical species of arsenic. The mean total arsenic intake by 35 volunteers was 195±235 (15.8-1039) μg As day^?1, composed of 76% trimethylated arsenic (TMA), 17.3% inorganic arsenic (As_i), 5.8% dimethylated arsenic (DMA), and 0.8% monomethylated arsenic (MA): the intake of TMA was the largest of all the measured species. Intake of As_i characteristically and invariably occurred in each meal. Of the intake of As_i, 45-75% was methylated in vivo to form MA and DMA, and excreted in these forms into urine. The mean measured urinary total arsenic level in 56 healthy volunteers was 129±92.0 μg As dm^?3, composed of 64.6% TMA, 26.7% DMA, 6.7% As_i and 2.2% MA. The mean blood total arsenic level in the 56 volunteers was 0.73±0.57 μg dl^?1, composed of 73% TMA, 14% DMA and 9.6% As_i. The urinary TMA levels proved to be significantly correlated with the whole-blood TMA levels (r = 0.376; P<0.01).     

A comparative study on acute toxicity of methylarsonic acid,dimethylarsinic acid and trimethylarsine oxide in mice

The acute toxicity of methylarsonic acid, CH₃AsO(OH)₂ (MAA), dimethylarsininc acid, (CH₃)₂AsO(OH) (DMAA), and trimethylarsine oxide, (CH₃)₃AsO (TMAO), were examined in mice with oral administration. The LD₅₀ values of MAA, DMAA and TMAO were 1.8, 1.2 and 10.6 g kg^?1 respectively. The toxicity of MAA and DMAA was very much lower than that for inorganic arsenic compounds. It was shown that TMAO has a similar acute toxicity to arsenobetaine. On the other hand, when the mice were administered 14.4 g kg^?1 of TMAO once only orally, a garlic-like odor (trimethylarsine, (CH₃)₃As) was definitely detectable in the exhalation of the animals by the human olfactory sense within about a few minutes.     

Arsenic accumulation by arsenic-tolerant freshwater blue-green alga (Phormidium sp.)

Accumulation, biomethylation and excretion of arsenic by the arsenic-tolerant freshwater blue–green alga, Phormidium sp., which had been isolated from an arsenic-polluted environment, were investigated. The cellular growth curves were in fair agreement with a ‘logistic curve’ equation. The growth increased with an increase in the surrounding arsenic concentration up to 100 m?g g^?1. The cells survived even at 7000 m?g g^?1. The arsenic concentration of the cells increased with an increase of the surrounding arsenic concentration up to 7000 m?g g^?1. Phosphorus concentrations in the medium affected the growth and arsenic accumulation. No arsenic was accumulated by cells killed by ethanol. The arsenic was methylated to the extent of 3.2% of the total arsenic accumulated. When the cells were transferred into an arsenic-free medium, 85% of the arsenic accumulated was excreted; 58% of the excreted arsenic was in methylated form implying extensive methylation in the arsenic-free medium.     

Differential preconcentration of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) with thionalide loaded on silica gel

2-Mercapto-N-2-naphtylacetamide (thionalide) on silica gel is used for differential preconcentration of μg l^?1 levels of arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) from aqueous solution. In batch experiments, arsenic(III) was quantitatively retained on the gel from solutions of pH 6.5–8.5, but arsenic(V) and organic arsenic compounds were not retained. The chelating capacity of the gel was 5.6 μmol g^?1 As(III) at pH 7.0. Arsenic retained on teh column was completely eluted with 25 ml of 0.01 M sodium borate in 0.01 M sodium hydroxide containing 10 mg l^?1 iodine (pH 10). The arsenic was determined by silver diethyldithiocarbamate spectrophotometry. Arsenic(V) was subsequently determined after reduction to arsenic(III) with sulphite and iodide. Arsenic(III) and arsenic(V) in sea water are shown to be < 0.12 and 1.6 μg l^?1, respectively.     

Conversion of arsenite and arsenate to methylarsenic and dimethylarsenic compounds by homogenates prepared from livers and kidneys of rats and mice

Pooled livers and pooled kidneys from rats or mice were homogenized and spiked with arsenite or arsenate in the concentration range 1.3–20 μmol dm^?3. Methylarsenic and dimethylarsenic compounds were determined by the hydride generation technique in the homogenates after a 90 min incubation at 37°C. The rat homogenates methylated arsenite and arsenate more efficiently than the mouse homogenates. Monomethylated arsenic was present in larger amounts than dimethylated arsenic in the rat homogenates. In the absence of reduced glutathione (GSH), no methylation occurred. Addition of GSH promoted monomethylation and dimethylation, whereas dithiothreitol and mercaptoethanol (10 mmol dm^?3) fostered only monomethylation. The amounts of monomethylated arsenic in the rat liver homogenates increased with increasing arsenite concentration (1.3–20 μmol dm^?3) however, the percentage of arsenic that had been methylated decreased. A similar trend, but with much less monomethylarsenic formed, was observed for arsenate-spiked homogenates. Rat kidney homogenates methylated arsenite and arsenate to a much smaller extent than rat liver homogenates. The K_m values for the monomethylation in rat liver homogenates were found to be 5.3 μmol dm^?3 for arsenite and 59 μmol dm^?3 for arsenate.     

Observations on toxicologically relevant arsenic in urine in adult offspring of families with Balkan Endemic Nephropathy and controls by batch hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry

The aim of this study was to develop a method for the characterization of internal exposure to arsenic, which is thought to play a role in the development of a kidney disease, known as Balkan Endemic Nephropathy, typical for a district in Bulgaria, and to investigate whether the As body burden differs in the offspring versus control individuals. For this case study, an analytical procedure for the determination of toxicologically relevant arsenic (the sum of arsenite, arsenate, monomethylarsonate, and dimethylarsinate) in urine by batch-type hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry was developed. Optimization experiments for levelling off the sensitivity of inorganic arsenic and its mono- and dimethylated species in dilute HCl–L-cysteine medium were performed. The limit of detection for hydride forming arsenic fraction was 0.5?ng As, i.e. 0.25?µg?L^?1 in 10?mL of 1?+?4 v/v diluted urine. The relative standard deviation was typically 1.5–1.8% for aqueous solution and 2–6% for urine samples at 1.0?µg?L^?1 As. The sample throughput rate was 15?h^?1. No statistical correlation and cross-correlation between individuals case-control and sex at 95% confidence were found: controls (n?=?99), mean 3.5?±?2.1 (SD), range 0.9–10.4, median 3.0?µg?L^?1 As and cases (n?=?102), mean 3.6?±?2.2 (SD), range 0.5–11.0, median 3.2?µg?L^?1 As. On the basis of this study, arsenic can be excluded as a factor involved in BEN development.     

Simulate methylation reaction of arsenic(III) with methyl iodide in an aquatic system

The methylation reaction of inorganic arsenic occurring in aquatic systems was studied by HPLC‐HG‐AFS as a method to separate and detect soluble methylarsenic species. Transformation from inorganic arsenic to methylarsenic was essential for major changes in toxicity to organisms. Monomethylarsenic [AsOCH₃(OH)₂] was the only product in the methylation reaction of inorganic arsenic(III) with methyl iodide (MeI). This process can be described as an oxidative carbonium‐ion transfer, with MeI acting as a methyl donor. From a thermodynamic point of view, the activity of the carbonium ion and pH were the two major influencing factors. The pH dependence of redox potential of As(III) was the reason for the effect of pH on methylation of arsenic. The influences of salinity and concentration of the methyl donor may be explained by their effects on the activity of carbonium. Moreover, kinetics experiments demonstrated that the methylation reaction was first‐order for both As(III) and methyl iodide. First‐order reaction rates were also calculated at different pH, salinity and MeI, and were found to be in the range 0.0026–0.0123 h^?1. The methylation rate varied largely under different reaction conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Arsenic distribution in rats fed a Hijiki diet

Very large doses of sodium arsenate (Na₂HAsO₄), 14 mg As kg^?1 of body weight, were administered to Sprague-Dawley male rats (body weight 300 g) fed a 5% Hijiki diet by stomach tube twice within two days. After 24 h, the rats were sacrificed and various organs were dried for subsequent neutron activation analysis. The distribution of arsenic (As) in selected organs was determined by neutron activation analysis. The highest concentration of As was found in blood cells with a rather high concentration in the liver and heart. As the control, rats which were fed on a 5% cellulose diet were used. Control rats which were administered arsenate showed that the arsenic distribution and the concentration in their organs were similar to those on the 5% Hijiki diet. Even the blood cells of the controls without any arsenic administration were found to contain a small amount of arsenic.