High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils

Karstic soils are often naturally-high in As contents, primarily due to the secondary enrichment during soil weathering from carbonate rocks. However, the As risk via soil exposure for residents in karst areas remains unclear. In this study, we collected 32 residential soils from rural karst area in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuanchen Zhang, Guobing Lin, Chenjing Liu, Zhongfang Yang, Lena Q. Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Soil & Environmental Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949919425000159
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849315589627052032
author Yuanchen Zhang
Guobing Lin
Chenjing Liu
Zhongfang Yang
Lena Q. Ma
author_facet Yuanchen Zhang
Guobing Lin
Chenjing Liu
Zhongfang Yang
Lena Q. Ma
author_sort Yuanchen Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Karstic soils are often naturally-high in As contents, primarily due to the secondary enrichment during soil weathering from carbonate rocks. However, the As risk via soil exposure for residents in karst areas remains unclear. In this study, we collected 32 residential soils from rural karst area in Guangxi and measured their total As, Fe, Ca and organic C contents. To assess their health risk, we determined and compared bioaccessible As, Fe, and Ca using three in vitro assays (solubility bioaccessibility research consortium-SBRC, physiologically based extraction test-PBET, and in vitro gastrointestinal methods-IVG). The karstic soils showed high As contents at 8.09–256 ​mg ​kg−1, averaging 58.2 ​mg ​kg−1, but low bioaccessible As at 0.386–0.977 ​mg ​kg−1, averaging 0.783 ​mg ​kg−1. The As bioaccessibility was low at 1.14–3.34%, averaging 1.97%, suggesting a low health risk to humans via incidental oral ingestion. The high Fe content averaging 74.8 ​g ​kg−1 may have contributed to As enrichment in karstic soils, with a positive correlation of R2 ​= ​0.623. Further, the low Fe bioaccessibility at 0.28% in the gastric phase of SBRC indicated that Fe was poorly soluble in simulated gastrointestinal solution, which may have contributed to low bioaccessible As (R2 ​= ​0.360). Besides, bioaccessible Ca and soil organic C may also play a role with R2 ​= ​0.404−0.449. This study sheds light on the high total As contents but low bioaccessible As in residential soils, indicating the low health risks via incidental oral ingestion in karst areas.
format Article
id doaj-art-3cbf9adf49f343dfaf7f2e25f15bd0d3
institution Kabale University
issn 2949-9194
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Soil & Environmental Health
spelling doaj-art-3cbf9adf49f343dfaf7f2e25f15bd0d32025-08-20T03:52:06ZengElsevierSoil & Environmental Health2949-91942025-04-013210014210.1016/j.seh.2025.100142High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soilsYuanchen Zhang0Guobing Lin1Chenjing Liu2Zhongfang Yang3Lena Q. Ma4Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China; Corresponding author.Karstic soils are often naturally-high in As contents, primarily due to the secondary enrichment during soil weathering from carbonate rocks. However, the As risk via soil exposure for residents in karst areas remains unclear. In this study, we collected 32 residential soils from rural karst area in Guangxi and measured their total As, Fe, Ca and organic C contents. To assess their health risk, we determined and compared bioaccessible As, Fe, and Ca using three in vitro assays (solubility bioaccessibility research consortium-SBRC, physiologically based extraction test-PBET, and in vitro gastrointestinal methods-IVG). The karstic soils showed high As contents at 8.09–256 ​mg ​kg−1, averaging 58.2 ​mg ​kg−1, but low bioaccessible As at 0.386–0.977 ​mg ​kg−1, averaging 0.783 ​mg ​kg−1. The As bioaccessibility was low at 1.14–3.34%, averaging 1.97%, suggesting a low health risk to humans via incidental oral ingestion. The high Fe content averaging 74.8 ​g ​kg−1 may have contributed to As enrichment in karstic soils, with a positive correlation of R2 ​= ​0.623. Further, the low Fe bioaccessibility at 0.28% in the gastric phase of SBRC indicated that Fe was poorly soluble in simulated gastrointestinal solution, which may have contributed to low bioaccessible As (R2 ​= ​0.360). Besides, bioaccessible Ca and soil organic C may also play a role with R2 ​= ​0.404−0.449. This study sheds light on the high total As contents but low bioaccessible As in residential soils, indicating the low health risks via incidental oral ingestion in karst areas.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949919425000159Health riskIn vitro assaysCarbonate rockSecondary enrichmentIncidental oral ingestionGeochemical background
spellingShingle Yuanchen Zhang
Guobing Lin
Chenjing Liu
Zhongfang Yang
Lena Q. Ma
High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils
Soil & Environmental Health
Health risk
In vitro assays
Carbonate rock
Secondary enrichment
Incidental oral ingestion
Geochemical background
title High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils
title_full High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils
title_fullStr High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils
title_full_unstemmed High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils
title_short High Fe and Ca contents contribute to geologically-high As but bioaccessibly-low As in karstic residential soils
title_sort high fe and ca contents contribute to geologically high as but bioaccessibly low as in karstic residential soils
topic Health risk
In vitro assays
Carbonate rock
Secondary enrichment
Incidental oral ingestion
Geochemical background
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949919425000159
work_keys_str_mv AT yuanchenzhang highfeandcacontentscontributetogeologicallyhighasbutbioaccessiblylowasinkarsticresidentialsoils
AT guobinglin highfeandcacontentscontributetogeologicallyhighasbutbioaccessiblylowasinkarsticresidentialsoils
AT chenjingliu highfeandcacontentscontributetogeologicallyhighasbutbioaccessiblylowasinkarsticresidentialsoils
AT zhongfangyang highfeandcacontentscontributetogeologicallyhighasbutbioaccessiblylowasinkarsticresidentialsoils
AT lenaqma highfeandcacontentscontributetogeologicallyhighasbutbioaccessiblylowasinkarsticresidentialsoils