Exploration of Toxic and Essential Metals in Popular Rice Grains of Bangladesh and Associated Human Health Risk Implications.

In order to evaluate the benefits as well as the impacts of essential and toxic metals regarding human health, the six common rice grains (katarivhog, bashful, banglamoti, najirshail, branded miniket and loose miniket) were collected from four wholesale markets in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and were analyzed with different atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) techniques. The mean concentrations of the toxic metals Pb, Cd, Cr, and As had 0.299 ± 0.017, 0.157 ± 0.012, 1.33 ± 0.084, and 0.120 ± 0.006 mg/kg, respectively, while those of the essential metals Fe, Cu, Zn, Na, Ca, and Mg had 7.90 ± 0.447, 3.11 ± 0.097, 10.6 ± 0.340, 37.4 ± 0.622, 90.1 ± 7.70, and 115.8 ± 1.61 mg/kg, respectively. Among them, the mean concentrations of toxic metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, and As) exceeded the maximum allowable concentration in rice set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Risk assessment of the heavy metals Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Fe, Cu, and Zn showed that their estimated daily intakes were below the daily reference doses for adults. However, Cd and Cr individually were found to have the target hazard quotient value close to 1 (threshold limit), indicating that they alone are capable of potential health hazards from continuous rice consumption, while the hazard index has surpassed three units signifying greater danger associated with the current trend of consumption. A very high chance of developing cancer in the near future is predicted by incremental lifetime carcinogenic risk (ILCR) analysis for continued intake of Cr (ILCR > 1E-03), and a moderate to high risk is predicted for other carcinogenic substances (Pb, Cd, and As) (ILCR in between 1E-03 and 1E-05) with present rice consumption. The contribution of the essential metals to the RNI revealed that Cu from rice contributes more than 100% in most samples, and the overall contribution is in the following order: Cu > Zn > Fe > Mg > Ca > Na. To ensure the safety of staple foods for human health, it ought to be necessary to design a plan to measure the budget of hazardous metals from all sources with proper surveillance by relevant authorities.

Pollution Characteristics, Source Identification, and Health Risk of Heavy Metals in the Soil-Vegetable System in Two Districts of Bangladesh.

The consequences of climate change, food security, and self-sufficiency goals are driving excessive human activity onto vegetable farms in Bangladesh, and harmful heavy metal exposure is spreading. So, the study assessed the toxic metals (Pb, Cd, and Cr) exposure, characteristics, and human health risk regarding the soil-vegetable system of two distinct locations in Bangladesh using atomic absorption spectrometry. The average concentration of metals in soil and fertilizer/pesticide samples followed the same order (Cr > Pb > Cd), but for vegetable samples, the order was Pb > Cr > Cd, with some extra Pb compared to the World Health Organization (WHO) allowable limit (0.3 mg/kg). Low levels of pollution with negligible ecological concerns were predicted for both locations by the soil quality indexing. But industrial influence boosted the Pb content in location B, and common sources (fertilizer/pesticide) for both locations might be responsible for a moderate level of Cd. The toxic metals transferred to vegetables followed the trend of Cd > Pb > Cr. However, the human health risks arising from harmful metals exposure at both locations were ineffective (< 1) in evaluating noncarcinogenic risk patterns through the target hazard quotient (THQ), total THQ, and hazard index (HI). Again, considering probable carcinogenic risk patterns, vegetable consumption with studied exposure levels of toxic metals followed within the acceptable range (between 1.0E-04 and 1.0E-06). Overall, location B is slightly more vulnerable than location A by considering metal exposure, pollution distribution, and risk evaluation in the study area (significant at p < 0.05). So, systematic monitoring and protective measures are required to ensure food safety and sustainable vegetable production.

Lead Exposure of Four Biologically Important Common Branded and Non-branded Spices: Relative Analysis and Health Implication.

Technological advances and socioeconomic development of Bangladesh are leading to the best choice between branded and non-branded powdered spices. But toxic metal issues can be another factor to elect them. So lead (Pb) exposure and its consequence on the human body for these two categories of four common spices have been ascertained here. A validated laboratory method using hot plate digestion and flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) has been used for that. The obtained mean concentration of Pb in branded and non-branded spice powders followed the decreasing order of turmeric > coriander > red chili > cumin powder and turmeric > red chili > cumin > coriander powder, respectively, where, in any analysis mode, the non-branded items are potentially ahead of Pb exposure. The market-based mean concentration between these two categories was not a significant difference (t-test). Approximately 90% of the spice samples have shown within the maximum allowable limit by Bangladesh Standard. The sum of estimated daily intake indicated that most of the city market (67%) for non-branded items and some branded (33%) samples have crossed the maximum tolerable daily intake (> 0.21 mg/kg). So, the human health risk assumption for the inhabitant of studied areas suggests there is no significant level of risk for them due to the consumption of spices regarding non-carcinogenic risk factor (THQ and total THQ) and carcinogenic risk factor (CR). But the development of a quality control process for loose spice powders as well as toxic metal screening from raw materials to finish products urgently needed and continuous monitoring with identifying the source of toxic metal is highly recommended.

Morning (First) Urine Copper Concentration: a New Approach for the Diagnosis of Wilson's Disease.

Twenty-four-hour (h) urinary copper content is considered as the most suitable tool for the diagnosis of Wilson's disease (WD); however, it is less accurate, time-consuming, and non-economical. Consequently, in the present study, an alternative method through measuring the morning (first) urine copper (Cu) concentration is proposed for the diagnosis of WD, which is more accurate, precise, faster, and cheaper. For this purpose, a sensitive, accurate, and precise analytical method was developed and validated in regard to Commission Decision 657/2002/EC, Council Directive 333/2007/EC, ISO/IEC 17025:2005, and EURACHEM 1998 for the determination of Cu in urine using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The methods LoD and LoQ for urine Cu were estimated as 6.68 µg/L and 16.7 µg/L respectively. The accuracy of the method was found to be 93.70-101.88% calculated from the spike recovery experiment. The RSDs for the repeatability and reproducibility precision were measured as 0.67-3.16 and 0.26-1.95 respectively. The method validation performance criteria indicated that the method was suitable for the determination of Cu in urine. The validated method was then applied for the determination of Cu in both 24 h and first urine. From the analysis, it was found that the amount of Cu per liter in the first urine was almost equivalent to the amount of Cu per 24 h indicating that instead of considering the 24-h urine, morning (first) urine investigation might be an alternative approach for the diagnosis of WD.

Dietary intake of heavy metals from eight highly consumed species of cultured fish and possible human health risk implications in Bangladesh.

Concentrations of five heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, As and Hg) in eight highly consumed cultured fish species (Labeo rohita, Clarias gariepinus, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Cyprinus capio, Puntius sarana, Oreochromis mossambicus, Pangasius pangasius and Anabas testudineus) collected from four wholesale markets of Dhaka city, Bangladesh (Karwan Bazar, Mohammadpur Town Hall, Newmarket and Mirpur-1) were measured using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) in order to evaluate the potential human health risks from the consumption of fish. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of all the studied heavy metals calculated on the basis of mean fish consumption of 49.5 g person-1 d-1 by Bangladeshi households indicated that no risk to people's health with respect to the EDI of investigated heavy metals through the consumption of the fish samples. From the human health point of view, the estimation of non-carcinogenic risk indicated that intake of individual heavy metal through the consumption of fish was safe for human health, whereas, consumption of combined heavy metals suggested potential health risk to highly exposed consumers. However, the estimation of carcinogenic risk of arsenic due to the consumption of fish indicated that consumers remain at risk of cancer.