Cadmium in wheat grain: Its nature and fate after ingestion

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Abstract
Cd intake in humans derives primarily from vegetable foods, yet the extent to which the chemical form and dose of Cd in such foods influences the fate and toxicity of this metal is poorly understood. The fate in mice of trace levels approximating that in agriculturally produced grain and high levels of Cd supplied as wheat grain was compared with that of Cd supplied as CdCl2. The amounts and forms of the metal in kidney and liver, target organs in Cd accumulation, were compared. In mice, Cd orally administered as grain and as CdCl2 had a similar fate in terms of organ distribution and the nature of the Cd-forms in kidney and liver. A low dose of either form resulted in higher kidney vs. liver Cd. Preliminary characterization studies indicated that Cd in wheat grain occurred primarily as an 11,000 dalton, aqueous-soluble complex, which was not inducible by Cd.