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Toxic effects of consumption of ‘hijiki’ seaweed in rats

‘Hijiki’ (Hijikia fusiforme) is a sort of seaweed consumed in Japan, although it contains high amount of inorganic arsenic (As). The average portion of inorganic As in total As of ‘hijiki’ is circa 70% (Food Standards Agency, UK). Authoritative agents of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and UK are prohibiting import, sale and consumption of ‘hijiki’. We tested detrimental effects of ‘hijiki’ using rats. Twenty 3‐week‐old male Fisher rats were equally divided to two groups: control group (CON) given AIN‐93G diet and ‘hijiki’ group (HIJ) given ‘hijiki’ diet that contained 30 g ‘hijiki’ powder/kg in place of α‐cornstarch. Rats were ad libitum fed diets and deionized water for 7 weeks. The ‘hijiki’ powder contained 102±2 (mean ± SD) mg total As/kg. Food intake and body weight gain were not affected by consumption of ‘hijiki’. ‘Hijiki’ significantly increased rectal temperature by 0.5°C. Total As concentration measured by ICP‐MS was markedly and significantly increased by ‘hijiki’. Total As (ng/g) in CON vs HIJ was respectively 12±12 vs 3168±571 in liver; 177±11 vs 67600±2700 in blood. ‘Hijiki’ consumption significantly decreased plasma free fatty acids and increased plasma total and LDL‐cholesterol and phospholipids. It decreased TIBC and increased plasma ALP, choline esterase, inorganic phosphorus and Mg. These results suggest that subacute oral exposure of ‘hijiki’ is detrimental mainly due to inorganic As.