Cadmium oral bioavailability is affected by calcium and phytate contents in food: Evidence from leafy vegetables in mice

To test high cadmium (Cd) concentration may not be high in health risk when considering Cd bioavailability, we assessed variation of Cd relative bioavailability (RBA, relative to CdCl2) using a mouse assay for 14 vegetables of water spinach, amaranth, and pakchoi. Cadmium concentration varied from 0.13 +/- 0.01-0.37 +/- 0.00 mu g g(-1) fw. Cadmium-RBA also varied significantly from 22.9 +/- 2.12-77.2 +/- 4.46%, however, the variation was overall opposite to that of Cd concentration, as indicated by a strong negative correlation between Cd-RBA and Cd concentration (R-2 = 0.43). Based on both Cd concentration and bioavailability, the identified high-Cd pakchoi variety resulted in significantly lower Cd intake than the high-Cd varieties of water spinach and amaranth (4.74 +/- 0.05 vs. 10.1 +/- 0.54 and 8.03 +/- 0.04 mu g kg(-1) bw week(-1)) due to significantly lower Cd-RBA (22.9 +/- 2.12 vs. 77.2 +/- 4.46 and 51.3 +/- 2.93%). The lower Cd-RBA in pakchoi was due to its significantly higher Ca and lower phytate concentrations, which facilitated the role of Ca in inhibiting intestinal Cd absorption. This was ascertained by observation of decreased Cd-RBA (90.5 +/- 12.0% to 63.5 +/- 5.53%) for a water spinach when elevating its Ca concentration by 30% with foliar Ca application. Our results suggest that to assess food Cd risk, both total Cd and Cd bioavailability should be considered.

Automated summary

The study found that the bioavailability of cadmium in vegetables is strongly negatively correlated with cadmium concentration, with pakchoi having lower cadmium intake compared to water spinach and amaranth due to its higher calcium and lower phytate concentrations. This inhibits intestinal absorption of cadmium.