Arsenic transfer along the soil-sclerotium-stroma chain in Chinese cordyceps and the related health risk assessment

PeerJ

article

YuGuo Liu¹  Ming Shi¹  XiaoShan Liu¹  JinYing Xie¹  RunHuang Yang¹  QiaoWei Ma¹  LianXian Guo¹ 

[1] Dongguan Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Guangdong Medical University

关键词: Chinese cordyceps;    Arsenic;    Soil;    Health risk;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.11023

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChinese cordyceps (Lepidoptera: Ophiocordyceps sinensis)is a larval-fungus complex. The concentration and distribution of arsenic (As) may vary during the stroma (ST) germination process and between the sclerotium (SC) and the ST. The soil-to-Chinese cordyceps system is an environmental arsenic exposure pathway for humans. We studied the As concentration in the soil, the SC, and the ST of Chinese cordyceps, and performed a risk assessment.MethodsSoil and Chinese cordyceps samples were collected from the Tibetan Plateau in China. The samples were analyzed for the total As concentration and As species determination, which were conducted by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and HPLC-ICP-MS, respectively.ResultsThe concentration of total As in the soil was much higher than in SC and ST. The major As species in the soil was inorganic AsV. In SC and ST, organic As was predominant, and the majority of As was an unknown organic form. There are significant differences in the As distribution and composition in soil, SC, and ST. Our risk assessment indicated that chronic daily ingestion was higher than inhalation and dermal exposure in children and adults. The hazard index (HI) of the non-carcinogenic and cancer risks (CR) for human health were HI ≤ 1 and CR < 1 × 10−4, respectively.ConclusionThe Chinese cordyceps possesses highly-efficient detoxifying characteristics and has a significant role in As transformation during its life cycle. We found that the levels of As in soils from the habitat of Chinese cordyceps were higher than the soil background values in China, but the probability for incurring health risks remained within the acceptable levels for humans.

【 授权许可】

CC BY