Metabolism in the Rat of the Naturally Occurring Arsenic of Shrimp as Compared with Arsenic Trioxide

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Abstract
Only a very small percentage of the arsenic from shrimp when fed to rats was stored in the animal organism, while inorganic arsenic when fed at the same level accumulated to the extent of fifty-five to sixty-five times the ‘normal’ concentration in the bodies of the animals and over 100 times the ‘normal’ concentration in the livers. During the first 3 months of the feeding period 18 per cent of the ingested As2O3 was stored in the bodies of the rats (as against 0.7 per cent for ‘shrimp arsenic’) and the total quantity stored within the first 3 months was not significantly increased by feeding the element for an additional 9 months. Rats which received for a period of 12 months diets containing 17.9 mg. arsenic per kilogram in the form of shrimp and of added As2O3 showed no evidence of toxicity in their growth, physical appearance and activity or by histological examination of the liver, spleen and kidney. Following the normal process of digestion the arsenic containing substance in shrimp yields a soluble and readily diffusible product which is rapidly eliminated by the kidneys. Arsenic occurs in shrimp in a complex combination and cannot be liberated in the animal organism.

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