Total and Inorganic Arsenic Contents in Some Edible Zingiberaceous Rhizomes in Thailand
Table 2
Total arsenic, inorganic arsenic, and percentage of inorganic arsenic with respect to total arsenic for rhizomes of six plants in the Zingiberaceae family collected from four regions in Thailand (north, south, central, and northeast)a.
Species
n
Total arsenica (ng/g)
Inorganic arsenica (ng/g)
% Inorganic arsenicb
Wet wt
Dry wt
Wet wt
Dry wt
Alpinia galanga
16
15.9 ± 5.1 A
92.4 ± 9.2 A
8.4 ± 3.0 A
48.8 ± 7.0 C
53.2 ± 8.2 A
(Khaa)
(10.0–28.3)
(74.7–107.2)
(4.5–15.6)
(39.3–65.1)
(38.9–69.6)
Boesenbergia rotunda
16
20.8 ± 4.6 A
103.5 ± 20.8 A
13.4 ± 3.1 B
66.3 ± 12.7 A
64.4 ± 4.9 A
(Kra-chaai)
(11.5–27.3)
(80.3–140.3)
(6.4–17.6)
(47.3–92.8)
(56.1–74.3)
Curcuma longa
16
10.3 ± 3.8 A
61.7 ± 12.5 B
4.3 ± 1.5 A
25.5 ± 5.0 D
41.8 ± 6.2 A
(Khamin-chan)
(5.8–21.3)
(42.5–87.2)
(2.6–8.2)
(20.4–36.0)
(30.5–53.5)
Curcuma zedoaria
16
14.5 ± 4.6 A
89.8 ± 17.5 A
6.2 ± 1.5 A
38.7 ± 4.7 B
44.5 ± 10.0 A
(Khamin-oi)
(6.9–21.8)
(55.0–126.8)
(2.5–8.4)
(24.4–44.6)
(28.5–72.8)
Zingiber cassumunar
16
17.5 ± 6.6 A
106.7 ± 19.5 A
11.7 ± 4.5 B
71.2 ± 11.6 A
67.4 ± 7.5 A
(Plai)
(7.9–26.8)
(73.6–145.1)
(5.6–20.2)
(52.7–92.1)
(54.6–83.2)
Zingiber officinale
16
7.9 ± 2.2 A
69.3 ± 11.8 B
4.4 ± 1.0 A
38.5 ± 5.5 B
56.9 ± 11.8 A
(Ginger)
(4.8–13.7)
(43.3–86.4)
(2.6–6.0)
(30.1–48.5)
(42.4–82.6)
aThere were 96 samples in total, 16 of each of the six species. Values are mean ± SD; numbers in parentheses are ranges.
b% inorganic arsenic = (concentration of inorganic arsenic × 100)/concentration of total arsenic. A, B, C, and D values in the same column followed by different letters denote significant differences (P < 0.05).
