International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition

Authors
Hema Singh, Sangeeta Goomer

Abstract
Rice plants uptake more arsenic as compared to other cereal crops. Arsenic levels in white rice has been studied widely in recent years however, few studies have been focused on the levels of arsenic in brown rice. Therefore, this present study has assessed the concentration of arsenic in brown rice produced in the Trans Indo-Gangetic plain (TIGP) of India, which is still an unexplored region in this context. Total arsenic in brown rice was estimated using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Arsenic concentration in the brown rice grain varied from 14 to 1023 µg kg^-1 (dw), with a mean value of 196 µg kg^-1. This value is lower than most of the published data from other countries/regions and also from the WHO recommended permissible limit in rice (1.0 mg kg^-1). Therefore, this study has concluded that as of now brown rice grains produced in the Trans Indo-Gangetic Plain of India are safe for human consumption.