Chemistry:Arsenosugar

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Arsenosugars, also known as arsenic-containing ribofuranosides, are a class of organoarsenic compound and ribose derivative predominantly found in algae, seaweed and marine animals.[1]

Structure

Chemical structure of oxo-arsenosugars and several common functional groups

There are several types of arsenosugar with the main ones being: oxo-, where an oxygen is double bonded to the arsenic; thio-, where a sulfur double bonds to the arsenic; and methyl-arsenosugars, where the arsenic atom is bonded to 2 or 3 methyl groups. The R-group represents an organic group with common ones being glycerol, sulfate, sulfonate and phosphate. There are a total of over 70 known arsenosugars with a known structure.[2]

Occurrence and production

Arsenosugars were first isolated and identified in 1981 from Ecklonia radiata and are found predominantly in marine organisms.[3] Arsenosugars are produced by some algae and bacteria, such as Synechocystis and Chlorella vulgaris[4] which can convert inorganic arsenic, such as arsenite ions, into various organo-arsenic compounds including methlyarsenous acid and dimethylarsinous acid which then get converted to arsenosugars. These arsenosugars may then further be converted into arsenolipids.[3]

Toxicity

Compared to many other organo-arsenic compounds, but similar to arsenobetaine, arsenosugars are generally non-toxic and pose less of a health concern to humans.[5] However, some possible products of metabolism can be toxic, however, little research has been performed into their exact toxicities.[6]

References

  1. Morales-Rodríguez, Alba; Sahuquillo, Àngels; Minguillón, Cristina; López-Sánchez, José Fermín; Barrón, Dolores (August 1, 2024). "Arsenosugar extracted from algae: Assessment of countercurrent chromatography for isolation". Analytica Chimica Acta 1315. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2024.342814. ISSN 0003-2670. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003267024006159. 
  2. Stonik, Valentin A.; Stonik, Inna V. (July 28, 2023). "Carbohydrate-Containing Low Molecular Weight Metabolites of Microalgae" (in en). Marine Drugs 21 (8): 427. doi:10.3390/md21080427. ISSN 1660-3397. PMID 37623708. PMC 10456119. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/21/8/427. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Xue, Xi-Mei; Ye, Jun; Raber, Georg; Rosen, Barry P.; Francesconi, Kevin; Xiong, Chan; Zhu, Zhe; Rensing, Christopher et al. (January 15, 2019). "Identification of Steps in the Pathway of Arsenosugar Biosynthesis" (in en). Environmental Science & Technology 53 (2): 634–641. doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b04389. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 30525501. PMC 6467767. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b04389. 
  4. Murray, Linda A.; Raab, Andrea; Marr, Iain L.; Feldmann, Jörg (September 2003). "Biotransformation of arsenate to arsenosugars by Chlorella vulgaris" (in en). Applied Organometallic Chemistry 17 (9): 669–674. doi:10.1002/aoc.498. ISSN 0268-2605. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aoc.498. 
  5. EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Knutsen, Helle Katrine; Åkesson, Agneta; Bampidis, Vasileios; Bignami, Margherita; Bodin, Laurent; Chipman, James Kevin; Degen, Gisela et al. (December 2024). "Risk assessment of complex organoarsenic species in food". EFSA Journal 22 (12). doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9112. PMID 39655151. PMC 11626214. http://doi.wiley.com/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.9112. 
  6. Leffers, Larissa; Ebert, Franziska; Taleshi, Mojtaba S.; Francesconi, Kevin A.; Schwerdtle, Tanja (2013-07-08). "In vitro toxicological characterization of two arsenosugars and their metabolites". Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 57 (7): 1270–1282. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201200821. ISSN 1613-4133. PMID 23564523. PMC 3739928. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3739928/.