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Arsenic in Rice Tied to Human Genetic Damage 
Tuesday, 23 Jul 2013 02:36 PM
By Nick Tate

High levels of arsenic in rice grown in certain regions of the world have
been shown to cause genetic damage in humans.

A new study by University of Manchester scientists, working in collaboration
with researchers at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in
Kolkata, has proven a link between rice containing high levels of arsenic
and chromosomal damage in people who eat a lot of rice as a staple. 

In recent years, researchers have reported high concentrations of arsenic in
several rice-growing regions around the world. The new study discovered that
people in rural West Bengal eating rice as a staple had higher rates of
genetic damage, suggesting rice grown in some regions of the world may pose
a greater risk. 

The study, published in the Scientific Reports, examined at the frequency of
"micronuclei" damage - a tell-tale sign of chromosomal damage that has been
shown to be linked to cancer - in more than 400,000 individual cells
extracted from urine samples from volunteers. 

The research team said their work raises concerns about health impacts of
consuming high arsenic rice as a staple, particularly by people with
relatively poor nutritional status - perhaps as many as a few hundred
million people. The scientists added that it's unclear how relevant the
findings are people in the U.S. and other affluent nations, with lower
consumption of rice and better nutritional status, but they said further
research is warranted. 

"Although concerns about arsenic in rice have been raised for some time now,
to our knowledge, this is the first time a link between consumption of
arsenic-bearing rice and genetic damage has been demonstrated," said David
Polya, who led the Manchester team. "As such, it vindicates increasing
concerns expressed by the European Food Safety Authority and others about
the adequacy of regulation of arsenic in rice." 

Ashok K Giri, M.D., who led the Indian research team, added: "Although high
arsenic in rice is a potential threat to human health, there should not be
any panic about the consequences, particularly as the health risks arise
from long-term chronic exposure. We can avoid high arsenic rice by taking
proper mitigation strategies for rice cultivation; moreover, one CSIR
institute in India has already identified a number of Indian rice varieties
which accumulate lower concentrations of arsenic, so we can easily address
future human health risks with proper mitigation strategies.

"Results of this study will not only help to understand the toxic effects
caused by this human carcinogen but also these results will help the
scientists and regulatory authorities to design further extensive research
to set improved regulatory values for arsenic in rice, particularly for
those billions of people who consume 10 to 50 percent rice in their daily
diet." 

C 2013 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.




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