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Table 15.7. Arsenic compounds detected in various samples and approximate percentage that each
compound contributed to the total arsenic in each organism, adapted from Edmonds et al. (1997)
Sample
Chaetoceros in normal sea water
Chaetoceros with elevated arsenic
Chaetoceros in artificial (reduced
arsenic) sea water
Cope pods fed Chaetoceros from
normal sea water
Cope pods fed Chaetoceros with
elevated arsenic
Copepods fed Chaetoceros from
artificial sea water
Amphipods
Antarctic krill
Silver drummer muscle
Silver drummer gut 1 (stomach)
Silver drummer gut 2
Silver drummer gut 3
Abalone foot muscle
Abalone digestive gland
Abalone fore-gut contents
Abalone hind-gut contents
(faeces)
Abalone food (algae)
Arsenic compounds detected"
Arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (2%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2c (90%),
unknown compounds(5%)
Arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2c (>99%)
Arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (2%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2c (60%),
unknown compounds(30%)
Arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2c (70%), trimethylarsine oxide (10%), unknown compounds (> 15%)
As(V) (40%), trimethylarsine oxide (25%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2c
(20%), unknown compounds (> 1 0%)
Trimethylarsine oxide (70%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2c (20%), unknown compounds (>5%)
Arsenobetaine (60%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (5%), Fig. 15.2b
(7%), Fig. 15.2c (5%), Fig. 15.2d (1 %)
Arsenobetaine (60%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (5%), Fig. 15.2b
(1 %), Fig. 15.2d (1 %), DMAAb (20%)
Trimethylarsine oxide (>95%), tetramethylarsonium ion (3%), arsenosugars of Fig. 15.2a and of Fig. 15.2c (1 %)
Trimethylarsine oxide (65%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (5%),
Fig. 15.2b (2%), Fig. 15.2c (1 %), Fig. 15.2d (10%)
Trimethylarsine oxide (50%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (10%),
Fig. 15.2b (15%), Fig. 15.2c (1 %), Fig. 15.2d (15%)
Trimethylarsine oxide (90%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (2%),
Fig. 15.2b (2%), Fig. 15.2d (2%)
Arsenobetaine (90%), tetramethylarsonium ion(l %), arsenosugar
of Fig. 15.2a (3%), Fig. 15.2b (2%), Fig. 15.2c (1 %)
Arsenobetaine (40%), tetramethylarsonium ion (1 %), arsenosugar
of Fig. 15.2a (10%), Fig. 15.2b (35%), Fig. 15.2c «1%), Fig. 15.2d
(10%)
Unknown compounds (60%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (5%),
Fig. 15.2b (30%), Fig. 15.2d (2%)
Unknown compounds (35%), arsenosugar of Fig. 15.2a (5%),
Fig. 15.2b (50%), Fig. 15.2d (5%)
Unknown compounds (30%), arsenosugar Fig. 15.2a(25%),
Fig. 15.2b (10%), Fig. 15.2c(5%), Fig. 15.2d (25%)
a Approx. percentages in parentheses
b DMAA, dimethylarsinic acid.
analysed by HPLC-I CP MS for their arsenical metabolites, see Fig. 1pa -g (Francesconi
et al. 1999). The aim of the investigation was to ascertain the possible role of the
arsenosugars as precursors to arsenobetaine. The obtained results showed that while
only 0.9% of dimethylarsenosugar was accumulated by the shrimps, giving dimethyl-