Juan Carlos Fernández-Caliani, Sandra Fernández-Landero, María Inmaculada Giráldez

In this study, oral bioaccessibility of naturally-occurring trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl and Zn)was assessed by in vitro simulation of human digestion in order to quantify the fraction of such potentially toxic metal(loid)s that can be dissolved by digestive fluids in the gastrointestinal tract. The results indicated that a considerable portion of the total trace element concentrations could be available for gastrointestinal absorption. Cadmium was the most bioaccessible metal in the gastric fluid, whereas Cu and Tl were the dominant metals solubilised in the gastrointestinal extract. Chemical partitioning of trace elements between gastric and gastrointestinal phases seems to be affected not only by the pH and composition of digestive solutions, but also by the soil properties and constituents.

Keywords: Oral bioaccessibility; geogenic trace elements; soil contamination; human health risk

Proscience vol. 7

Pp 30-34

DOI: 10.14644/ghc2020.005