Overview
Park and colleagues optimized HPLC-ICP-MS separation for six arsenic compounds and applied the method to Korean seafood samples. The source reports species-specific arsenic values for seaweed, shrimp, fish, shellfish, squid, cuttlefish, and clams. The table is a speciation table, not a total-arsenic occurrence table; inorganic arsenic is represented by AsIII and AsV.
Key numbers
The abstract reports 33 samples of seaweed, shrimp, fish, and shellfish, including two certified reference materials. It summarizes species concentrations as arsenobetaines - 0.019-1.04 mg/kg, arsenocholine - 0.033-69.0 mg/kg, arseniousacid - ND-1.25 mg/kg, dimethylarsinate - ND-3.75 mg/kg, monomethylarsonate - ND-8.33 mg/kg, and arsenic acid - ND-0.55 mg/kg. The abstract reports LODs in the range 0.5-2.5 µg/kg.
Table 2 reports six arsenic species in [mg/kg]:
| Matrix or sample type | Source-reported species finding |
|---|---|
| Laver | AB 0.22; AC 0.83; As III ND; DMA 0.025; MMA 1.5; As V 0.07; Unknown 1 |
| Brown seaweed 1-3 | As III ranged from 0.063 to 1.25; DMA ranged from 0.025 to 3.75; As V ranged from 0.10 to 0.55; AB ranged from 0.025 to 0.88; Unknown 1-3 |
| Tangle 1-2 | As III 0.34 and 0.64; MMA 3.33 and 8.33; As V ND; AB 0.18 and 0.10; AC 0.033 and 0.083; Unknown 1 and 2 |
| Shrimp 1-6 | AC ranged from 16.9 to 69.0; As III was NQ; As V was ND to 0.10; AB ranged from 0.18 to 0.94; Unknown 1-2 |
| Croaker and dried croaker | Croaker As III 0.033, DMA 0.025, MMA 0.083, As V 0.04; dried croaker As III 0.021, AC 1.63, As V ND |
| Oyster tissue | AB 0.38; AC 3.22; As III 0.51; DMA NQ; As V 0.060; Unknown 2 |
| Dried hard-shelled mussels | AC 3.50 and 4.50; As III NQ; DMA 0.23 and 0.38; As V ND and 0.05; Unknown 1 |
| Dried small squid | AC 4.09 and 2.92; As III NQ; DMA 0.094 and 0.019; MMA 0.33 and 0.067; As V 0.20 and ND; Unknown 2-3 |
| Dried flesh of a clam | AB 0.66; AC 0.30; As III 0.071; DMA 0.064; MMA 0.10; As V ND; Unknown 1 |
| Mackerel 1-2 | As III 0.017 and 0.036; DMA 0.032 and 0.044; MMA 0.063 and 0.10; As V 0.10 and 0.10; AC 1.17 and 1.77; Unknown 1 |
| Hairtail and dried hairtail | As III ranged from 0.0071 to 0.025; DMA ranged from 0.013 to 0.044; As V was ND to 0.05; AC ranged from 0.17 to 3.29 |
| Short-necked clams | As III 0.042 in both samples; DMA 2.38 and 0.025; AC 1.83 and 2.25; Unknown 2 |
| Cockle | AB 0.35; AC 0.71; As III 0.021; DMA 0. 31; As V 0.070; Unknown 1 |
| Dried cuttlefish | AC 3.46 and 6.05; As III NQ and 0.19; DMA 0.45 and 0.18; As V ND and 0.050; Unknown 2 |
The Results text states that inorganic arsenic compounds were detected in all 20 samples analyzed in that section and ranged from 0.0071-1.25 mg/kg. It also states that AB, DMA, and MMA were found in most samples at 0.019-8.3 mg/kg, while the abstract separately reports arsenocholine up to 69.0 mg/kg in shrimp.
Methods (brief)
The method used anion-exchange HPLC coupled to a PerkinElmer/Sciex ELAN 6100 DRC Plus ICP-MS with a Hamilton PRP-X100 column. The six target species were arsenobetaine (AB), arsenocholine (AC), arsenious acid (AsIII), dimethylarsinate (DMA), monomethylarsonate (MMA), and arsenic acid (AsV). Samples were prepared 1:10 with distilled water and filtered through a 0.45 µm nylon membrane filter. The source reports both gradient and isocratic methods, with isocratic elution allowing AsIII and AsV distinction without reducing AsV to AsIII.
Implications
This source provides arsenic-speciation occurrence evidence for Korean seafood and seaweed matrices. It shows that the dominant species varied by matrix, with shrimp dominated by arsenocholine in this table and seaweeds carrying measurable inorganic arsenic species. Downstream routing should preserve AsIII and AsV as inorganic arsenic and should not treat arsenobetaine, arsenocholine, DMA, or MMA as inorganic arsenic.
Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| b01ec52c31 | 2026-08-04 | major | 1 section added |
| 3171d069e3 | 2026-08-02 | major | 1 section added |
| 90a2f9a38e | 2026-07-30 | major | 1 section added and 1 removed |
| eaa8eeeedf | 2026-07-27 | major | 1 section added and 1 removed |
| aca5e2155a | 2026-06-09 | major | 1 section added |