Abstract/Summary

Background: Including seaweed in cattle feed has gained increased interest, but it is important to take into account that the concentration of toxic metals, especially arsenic, is high in seaweed. This study investigated the arsenic species in milk from seaweed-fed cows. Results: Total arsenic in milk of control diets (9.3 ± 1.0 μg As kg-1, n=4, dry mass) were significantly higher than seaweed-based diet (high-seaweed diet: 7.8 ± 0.4 μg As kg-1, p < 0.05, n=4, dry mass; low seaweed diet: 6.2 ± 1.0 μg As kg-1, p < 0.01, n=4, dry mass). Arsenic speciation showed that the main species present were arsenobetaine (AB) and arsenate (As(V)) (37% and 24% of the total arsenic, respectively). Trace amounts of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and arsenocholine (AC) have also been detected in milk. Apart from arsenate being significantly lower (p < 0.001) in milk from seaweed-fed cows, than in milk from the control group, other arsenic species showed no significant differences between groups. Conclusion: The lower total arsenic and arsenate in seaweed diet groups indicates a possible competition of uptake between arsenate and phosphate and the presence of AC indicates a reduction of AB occurred in the digestive tract. Feeding a seaweed blend (91% Ascophyllum nodosum and 9% Laminaria digitata) does not raise As-related safety concerns for milk.