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The concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in Iranian rice: a dietary health risk assessment study

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Abstract

In the present study, six potentially toxic elements (PTEs), including chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and nickel (Ni), were determined in 41 domestic rice samples collected from Tehran using ICP-OES (inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry). The mean concentration of Cd, As, Cu, Pb, Cr, and Ni was found as 0.014 ± 0.01, 0.018 ± 0.005, 2.15 ± 1.84, 0.42 ± 0.31, 0.1 ± 0.16, and 0.48 ± 0.36 mg kg−1, respectively. Possible risks due to ingestion of PTEs via rice consumption for children and adults were assessed by Monte Carlo simulation. The 50th percentile of estimated Cr intake for children through domestic rice consumption exceeded the maximum tolerable daily intake. There was only a potential non-carcinogenic risk for single Cr exposure for children. The 95th percentile of the estimated hazard index (HI) for children and adults was 4.34 and 1.05, indicating a potential non-carcinogenic risk related to multiple PTE exposure. The lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values derived from Cr, Ni, As, and Cd exposure exceeded the threshold value, indicating a carcinogenic risk due to PTEs’ exposure. The deterministic assessment demonstrates that the Tehran population may be at risk through domestic rice consumption. This study indicates that risk related to the exposure to multiple PTEs through the consumption of rice in adults and children in Tehran is recognized as an important issue, thus supporting the importance of cumulative analysis of the risk of exposure to PTEs through food. Finally, national strategic environmental assessment and technological solutions for monitoring and protecting freshwater, soil, waste management, and chemicals as a global concern policy are needed for public health.

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Funding

The National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR, supported this study. Iran (Grant No. 25753).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, Prof. Wacław Dąbrowski Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology – State Research Institute, 36 Rakowiecka St., 02-532, Warsaw, Poland

    Amin Mousavi Khaneghah

  2. Department of Technology of Chemistry, Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, Baku, Azerbaijan

    Amin Mousavi Khaneghah

  3. Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Mahdie Kamalabadi

  4. Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, School of Medicine, Nutrition Health Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Ali Heshmati

  5. Department of Food Science and Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Zahra Hadian

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  1. Amin Mousavi Khaneghah
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  2. Mahdie Kamalabadi
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Contributions

Amin Mousavi Khaneghah: conceptualization, investigation, review and editing. Mahdie Kamalabadi: investigation, literature searching, writing, original draft. Ali Heshmati: review and editing. Zahra Hadian: literature searching, writing, original draft, conceptualization, data curation, resources, supervision.

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Correspondence to Zahra Hadian.

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Mousavi Khaneghah, A., Kamalabadi, M., Heshmati, A. et al. The concentration of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in Iranian rice: a dietary health risk assessment study. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 90757–90771 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28442-8

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