ARSENIC STATUS AND SPECIATION IN CHICKEN HEART TISSUES

This study evaluated the total and main arsenic species in chicken heart tissues. The experimental study was carried out using two sets of samples. In the first one, 30-day-old chickens were exposed to sodium arsenate, using spiked drinking water. These chickens grew normally and were killed after fifty days of arsenic exposure. The second sets were edible chickens were nonexposed to sodium arsenate for a parallel study. The total arsenic and arsenic species content in the exposed samples were at least twice those in the normal edible chicken. One important aspect is the capability of the heart tissues to preconcentrate the most toxic species, arsenite, in the exposed chicken. Arsenobetaine was also detected in fat in the non exposed chicken. This study could be a way of establishing similarities and differences with humans exposed to the same As(V) species, to ascertain whether chickens can be used in arsenic metabolism evaluation and the results extrapolated to humans.