Gut Microbiota Control the Bioavailability and Metabolism of Organoarsenicals of Seaweeds in Mice after Oral Ingestion

Edible seaweed consumption is an essential route of human exposure to complex organoarsenicals, including arsenosugars and arsenosugar phospholipids. However, the effects of gut microbiota on the metabolism and bioavailability of arsenosugars in vivo are unknown. Herein, two nori and two kelp samples with phosphate arsenosugar and sulfonate arsenosugar, respectively, as the predominant arsenic species, were administered to normal mice and gut microbiota-disrupted mice treated with the broad-spectrum antibiotic cefoperazone for 4 weeks. Following exposure, the community structures of the gut microbiota, total arsenic concentrations, and arsenic species in excreta and tissues were analyzed. Total arsenic excreted in feces and urine did not differ significantly between normal and antibiotic-treated mice fed with kelp samples. However, the total urinary arsenic of normal mice fed with nori samples was significantly higher ( p < 0.05) (urinary arsenic excretion factor, 34–38 vs 5–7%), and the fecal total arsenic was significantly lower than in antibiotic-treated mice. Arsenic speciation analysis revealed that most phosphate arsenosugars in nori were converted to arsenobetaine (53.5–74.5%) when passing through the gastrointestinal tract, whereas a large portion of sulfonate arsenosugar in kelp was resistant to speciation changes and was excreted in feces intact (64.1–64.5%). Normal mice exhibited greater oral bioavailability of phosphate arsenosugar from nori than sulfonate arsenosugar from kelp (34–38 vs 6–9%). Our work provides insights into organoarsenical metabolism and their bioavailability in the mammalian gut.