DETERMINATION OF TOTAL ARSENIC AND SPECIATION OF ARSENO-BETAINE IN MARINE FISH BY MEANS OF REACTION HEADSPACE GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY UTILIZING FLAME-IONIZATION DETECTION AND ELEMENT-SPECIFIC SPECTROMETRIC DETECTION

Marine organisms contain amounts of arsenic ranging from less than 1 mug/g to more than 10 mug/g. In food examinations usually total arsenic is determined, rarely As(III) and As(V) additionally. Rating marine food according to its total arsenic contents without further speciation, would involve an overcritical assessment. Due to the lack of suitable methods for routine analysis in food-control, the ''organic'' moiety remains unspecified. Only after performing a systematic research onto the real existence of arsenic and its compounds relevant to marine organisms, a toxicological evaluation can be carried out. As to its quantitative occurrence and its negligible toxic relevance arsenobetaine is of decisive importance. Therefore a reliable method has been developed based on headspace gas chromatography after chemical reaction. The predominant role of aresenobetaine in the organic arsenic moiety as well as in total arsenic in marine fish could thus be demonstrated.