Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Nitrates naturally occur in the environment and are involved in the nitrogen cycle.Nitrates and nitrites are chemical compounds used in fertilizers, rodenticides and as food preservatives.They can be found in the air, soil, water and food (especially in vegetables) and can be synthesized in the human body.Nitrates play a significant role in the diet and metabolism of plants.Nitrates are formed by oxidation of organic waste by the action of nitrogen-binding bacteria.Humans are exposed to nitrates and nitrites via consumption of vegetables and processed meat products, and to a lesser extent via water and other food.Consumption of drinking water with an increased concentration of nitrate may affect the human body in two ways: (i) acutely, most often manifested as methemoglobinemia (where nitrates in the digestive system are reduced to nitrites, which then oxidize iron in the hemoglobin of the red blood cells forming methemoglobin unable to transmit oxygen in the body), resulting in blue skin, and (ii) chronic, manifested by the occurrence of cancer as a result of organism exposure to nitrosamines (formed during the reaction of nitrates with amines in the body).
Authors: Marija Nujić, Mirna Habuda-Stanić
Institution: University of Osijek
Language: Croatian
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2801230523