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How toxic is arsenic?

How toxic is arsenic?

Breathing in high levels of arsenic can cause a sore throat and irritated lungs. Swallowing high levels of arsenic can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle weakness and cramping, skin rashes, and other problems. Exposure to high enough amounts of arsenic can be fatal.

Where can arsenic be found?

Inorganic arsenic compounds are found in soils, sediments, and groundwater. These compounds occur either naturally or as a result of mining, ore smelting, and industrial use of arsenic. Organic arsenic compounds are found mainly in fish and shellfish.

Does fish contain arsenic?

About one-quarter of the arsenic present in the diet is inorganic arsenic, mainly from foods such as meat, poultry, dairy products and cereals. Fish and shellfish contain the highest concentrations of arsenic, but the proportion of inorganic arsenic in fish is very low, below 1%.

Does seafood have arsenic?

Seafood, including finfish, shellfish, and seaweed, is the largest contributor to arsenic (As) exposure in many human populations. In contrast to the predominance of inorganic As in water and many terrestrial foods, As in marine-derived foods is present primarily in the form of organic compounds.

Does basmati rice have arsenic?

Basmati rice is lower in arsenic than other kinds of rice. Whether rice is grown organically or conventionally does not have an impact on arsenic levels. Rice cakes and crackers can contain levels higher than in cooked rice.

What is arsenite and arsenic?

In chemistry, an arsenite is a chemical compound containing an arsenic oxoanion where arsenic has oxidation state +3. Note that in fields that commonly deal with groundwater chemistry, arsenite is used generically to identify soluble AsIII anions.

Is succinate dehydrogenase inhibited by arsenic?

Succinate dehydrogenase (complex II) activity was determined by the reduction of MTT dye to formazone metabolite. Our result showed that arsenic significantly reduced the function of complex II and probably inhibition of this enzyme contributes in arsenic toxicity.

Does garlic contain arsenic?

It has been evidenced that arsenic in garlic is present in the most toxic inorganic species As(III) and As(V). A non-chromatographic speciation method has been developed for the screening of inorganic toxic species of As in garlic samples by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry.

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