Distribution of Accumulated Arsenic in the Seaweed Hijiki, Sargassum fusiforme (Harvey) Setchell* (5)

Abstract

In the preceding papers, we reported the distribution of arsenic accumulated by Hijiki plants harvested along the seashores of Tsushima Archipelago. To investigate them harvested in some other areas, we collected Hijiki plants along the seashores of Goto Archipelago, Japan, in May 2001. Hijiki plants were separated into several parts such as leaves, stalks and filamentous holdfasts. After washing them with distilled water, the samples were lyophilized. Arsenic was determined by neutron activation analysis in the nuclear reactor of Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University. The non-uniformity of arsenic localization in individual plants along their stems was observed as shown previously when expressed in μg arsenic per g of wet or dry weight (ppm).