Survey of 13 trace elements of toxic and nutritional significance in rice from Brazil and exposure assessment

Abstract

Twenty-seven rice samples from Brazil, four parboiled brown, seventeen white and six parboiled white were analysed by ICP-MS for trace element determination. Concentrations of arsenic varied from 58.8 to 216.9 ng g⁻¹, for cadmium from 6.0 to 20.2 ng g⁻¹, for antimony from 0.12 to 1.28 ng g⁻¹, and for uranium from 0.025 to 1.28 ng g⁻¹. The estimated daily intake through rice consumption was 9.5 µg for As, 2.4 µg for Cd, 0.029 µg for Sb, 0.013 µg for U, 3.1 µg for Co, 0.2 µg for Cu, 85.6 mg for Mg, 1.9 mg for Mn, 333 mg for P, 3.0 µg for Se, 1.6 mg for Zn, 0.9 mg for Rb, and 0.3 µg for V. Found values represent a considerable percentage of the dietary reference intakes and provisional tolerable daily intake for essential and toxic elements, respectively.

Keywords:

• rice
• cereals
• trace elements (nutritional)
• trace elements (toxic)

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial support and fellowships.