Have you heard that vitamin C and prawn is not dangerous?

Excerpt from Indonesian hoax email:

Dear friends,

Cerita di bawah ini mohon kasih tahu kepada semua teman/orang yang anda sayangi, Peristiwa ini terjadi di Menado, ada seorang wanita meninggal mendadak dengan lima panca indera keluar darah, setelah diselidiki ternyata wanita ini meninggal bukan karena bunuh diri atau dibunuh, melainkan karena ketidaktahuan tentang racun akibat makanan. Wanita ini ada kebiasaan minum Vit C tiap hari. Ini tidak masalah. Masalahnya, malam itu wanita ini kebanyakan makan udang. Sebenarnya cuma makan udang saja juga tidak masalah, karena orang rumahnya juga banyak makan udang malam itu dan tak ada yang meninggal..  Tetapi, karena udang mengandung Arsenic Pentoxide (As2O5), dan berhubung habis makan udang wanita itu minum Vit C, terjadilah reaksi kimia di dalam perut yang membuat As2O5 berubah menjadi Arsenic Trioxide (As2O3) yang sangat beracun. Ini mengakibatkan hati, jantung, ginjal, pembuluh darah rusak, usus keluar darah, pembuluh darah melebar hingga wanita itu
 meninggal mengenaskan dengan kelima panca indera keluar darah. Jadi hati-hati, habis banyak makan udang jangan minum Vit C pada saat yang bersamaan.

Objection;

The mail presented here is fake. This post will show some contradictions within that evidence!

 First of all, lets take a look at this mail. This mail believed to go into internet circumstances at May 2001. The story is in Taiwan. (http://www.hayag.com/forum/d?23bb236fcea94e8d8890d72787072bb3)

YOU MAY POISON YOURSELF ACCIDENTALLY

 In Taiwan, a woman suddenly died unexpectedly with  signs of bleeding from her ears, nose, mouth & eyes. After a preliminary autopsy it was diagnosed death due to  arsenic poisoning death. Where did the arsenic come from?  The police launched an in-depth and extensive  investigation. A medical school professor was invited to come to solve the case. The professor carefully looked at the  contents from the  deceased's stomach, in less than half an hour, the mystery was solved. The professor said:'The deceased did not commit suicide and neither was she murdered, she died of
accidental death due to ignorance!'   Everyone was puzzled, why accidental death? The arsenic is
of the U.S.  military for carrying rice seedlings H Gao.  The professor said: 'The arsenic is produced in the stomach of the deceased.' The deceased used to take 'Vitamin C' everyday, which in itself is not a problem. The problem was that she ate a large portion of shrimp/prawn during dinner. Eating shrimp/prawn is not the problem that's why nothing happened to her family ever though they took the  same shrimp/prawn. However at the same time the deceased also took 'vitamin C', that is where the problem is!
    Researchers at the University  of Chicago  in  the United States , found through experiments, food such as soft-shell shrimp/prawn contains a much higher  concentration of - five potassium arsenic compounds.    Such fresh food by itself has no toxic effects on the  human  body. However, in taking 'vitamin C',  due to the chemical reaction, the original non-toxic -  five potassium arsenic (As anhydride, also known as arsenic  oxide, the chemical formula for As205) changed to a three  potassium toxic arsenic (ADB arsenic anhydride), also known  as arsenic trioxide, a chemical formula (As203), which is  commonly known as arsenic to the public!    Arsenic poisoning have magma role and can cause paralysis  to the small blood vessels, "mercapto Jimei"??,  inhibits the activity of the liver and fat necrosis change  Hepatic Lobules Centre, heart, liver, kidney, intestine  congestion, epithelial cell necrosis,  telangiectasia. Therefore, a person who dies of arsenic  poisoning will shows signs of bleeding from the ears, nose,  mouth & eyes.    Therefore; as a precautionary measure, DO NOT not take  shrimp/prawn when  taking 'vitamin C'.  

 And then, take a look at this mail we get as evidence.

Dear friends,

Cerita di bawah ini mohon kasih tahu kepada semua teman/orang yang anda sayangi, Peristiwa ini terjadi di Menado, ada seorang wanita meninggal mendadak dengan lima panca indera keluar darah, setelah diselidiki ternyata wanita ini meninggal bukan karena bunuh diri atau dibunuh, melainkan karena ketidaktahuan tentang racun akibat makanan. Wanita ini ada kebiasaan minum Vit C tiap hari. Ini tidak masalah. Masalahnya, malam itu wanita ini kebanyakan makan udang. Sebenarnya cuma makan udang saja juga tidak masalah, karena orang rumahnya juga banyak makan udang malam itu dan tak ada yang meninggal..  Tetapi, karena udang mengandung Arsenic Pentoxide (As2O5), dan berhubung habis makan udang wanita itu minum Vit C, terjadilah reaksi kimia di dalam perut yang membuat As2O5 berubah menjadi Arsenic Trioxide (As2O3) yang sangat beracun. Ini mengakibatkan hati, jantung, ginjal, pembuluh darah rusak, usus keluar darah, pembuluh darah melebar hingga wanita itu
 meninggal mengenaskan dengan kelima panca indera keluar darah. Jadi hati-hati, habis banyak makan udang jangan minum Vit C pada saat yang bersamaan.

What we could se here is different case but written with the same word, especially this line

The deceased used to take 'Vitamin C' everyday, which in itself is not a problem. The problem was that she ate a large portion of shrimp/prawn during dinner. Eating shrimp/prawn is not the problem that's why nothing happened to her family ever though they took the  same shrimp/prawn.

Wanita ini ada kebiasaan minum Vit C tiap hari. Ini tidak masalah. Masalahnya, malam itu wanita ini kebanyakan makan udang. Sebenarnya cuma makan udang saja juga tidak masalah, karena orang rumahnya juga banyak makan udang malam itu dan tak ada yang meninggal.. 

Why there are 2 cases, one in Taiwan and one in Manado, both of them are told in the internet, by email, but the words used are the same? The answer is because; They're both the same and one is a translated version of the other

This is a case when an Indonesian (presumably stupid enough because he/she couldn't create an original story, but smart enough to fool some of us) try to make an convincing story by changing a hoax taiwanese case into another one hoax story in Indonesia with his own setting (manado). Just by this evidence, we could see that the case is a fake one. But one may pressume that the content inside is true, well, in this case, it is also fake.

Vitamin C are not only contained in Vitamin C pills. Even an elementary school children know that that vitamin C exist inside oranges, tomatoes, various vegetables and also fruits. Although you happened to never eat seafood with vitamin C pills, I am sure you once eat that seafood with Orange Juice or with Tomato Juice or with Salads or at least with Lemon Tea. If this case is true, there will be millions of life lost because of drinking vitamin C accidentaly with seafood. If this case is true, this will happens years before internet age and your momma will surely told you not to drink vitamin C with shrimp or any seafood when you're still in the playgroup!

That so-called arsenic poisoning

Is the thing with the arsenic is also true? Please check out this evidence!

Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic by freshwater organisms.
Accession number;99A0295459
Title;Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic by freshwater organisms.
Author;KUROIWA TAKAYOSHI(National Inst. Materials and Chemical Res.)   TAKATSU AKIKO(National Inst. Materials and Chemical Res.)   UCHIUMI AKIRA(National Inst. Materials and Chemical Res.)  
Journal Title;Biomed Res Trace Elem
Journal Code:L1046A
ISSN:0916-717X
VOL.9;NO.3;PAGE.261-262(1998)
Figure&Table&Reference;FIG.2
Pub. Country;Japan
Language;Japanese
Abstract;Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic compounds by freshwater organisms were investigated. Shrimp and prawn were exposed to four arsenic compounds. The prawn bioaccumulated arsenic compounds directly from aqueous phase and biotransformed them in part. Both methylation and demethylation of the arsenicals were observed in vivo. Highly methylated and less toxic arsenic compounds were more accumulated in shrimp, but these arsenic compounds were less accumulated in prawn. Bioaccumulation of and biotransformation of As(V) via three-step freshwater food chain(green algae, through herbivorous shrimp, to carnivorous killifish) were investigated. Total arsenic-accumulation via food in the food chain decreased by one order of magnitude or more and the relative concentration of methylated arsenic to the total arsenic accumulated increased successively with an elevation in the trophic level. Trimethylarsenic compound was the only methylated arsenic species in killlifish. When prawn were exposed to As(V), the accumulated arsenic in prawn was partly transformed to trimethyl arsenic compounds. Thus the compounds were identified by HPLC-ICP-MS. As the results, main chemical forms of the trimethyl arsenic compounds was found to be arsenobetaine. These results suggested freshwater organisms can transform toxic arsenic compounds into less toxic compounds. (author abst.)

This is the scientific evidence (check that journal, oh yeah, it's real!) about the arsenic in aquatic organism. It is said here that the most common arsenic compound was arsenobetaine. we could se here, that the molecule structure of that arsenic compound is not the As2O5 or As2O3 but a C₅H₁₁AsO_2. And its not only contained in shrimp, it is also contained in aquatic organism like fish and clams. Check out this evidence; 

Arsenobetaine is an organoarsenic compound that is the main source of arsenic found in fish.[1]  It is the arsenic analogue of trimethylglycine, commonly known as betaine. The biochemistry and its biosynthesis are similar to the biosynthesis of choline  and betaine.Unlike several of the well known organoarsenic compounds, such as dimethylarsine and trimethylarsine, arsenobetaine is a common substance in the marine biological systems and in comparison is relatively non-toxic. It has been known since 1920 that marine fish contain organoarsenic compounds. In 1977 the structure of the main compound was discovered.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenobetaine)

So aquatic organism truly can contain arsenic; are they deadly to eat?

If aquatic organism deadly to eat, there will be millions if not billions case of seafood poisoning and instant death! take a look at this evidence contradict with that statement.

Inorganic arsenic and its compounds, upon entering the food chain, are progressively metabolised to less toxic forms of arsenic through a process of methylation. For example, the mold Scopulariopsis brevicaulis produce significant amounts of trimethylarsine if inorganic arsenic is present.The organic compound arsenobetaine is found in some marine foods such as fish and algae, and also in mushrooms in larger concentrations. The average person's intake is about 10–50 µg/day. Values about 1000 µg are not unusual following consumption of fish or mushrooms. But there is little danger in eating fish because this arsenic compound is nearly non-toxic.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic)

but if we consume so many seafood, just as the hoax email suggested, could it be deadly? as deadly as bringing instant death? Take a look at one more evidence!

The acute minimal lethal dose of arsenic in adults is estimated to be 70 to 200 mg or 1 mg/kg/day

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic_poisoning)

Characterization of arsenic content in marine organisms from temperate, tropical, and polar environments
Authors: D. Fattorini a; A. Notti a;F. Regoli a
Affiliation:    a Istituto di Biologia e Genetica, Universitagrave Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy
DOI: 10.1080/02757540600917328
Publication Frequency: 6 issues per year
Published in: journal Chemistry and Ecology, Volume 22, Issue 5 October 2006 , pages 405 - 414
Subjects: Atmospheric Chemistry; Environmental & Ecological Toxicology; Environmental Chemistry; Geochemistry; Hydrology; Plant & Animal Ecology; Pollution; Soil Sciences;Abstract
Arsenic is a widely distributed element which occurs in several chemical forms in the marine environment. Inorganic arsenic mediates the most toxic effects and predominates in sea water and sediments, while organisms generally accumulate non-toxic organic forms to concentrations probably reflecting species-specific characteristics in arsenic metabolism. This work represents an additional contribution to our knowledge on natural levels and chemical speciation of arsenic in marine organisms; basal concentrations were characterized in several species (bivalves, crustaceans, and fishes) from different environments (polar, temperate, and tropical latitudes), and results revealed an elevated variability with values ranging from less than 5 to about 200 μg g-1. No significant effects were observed as a function of the geographical area, with the only exception of crustaceans always showing more elevated arsenic concentrations in Mediterranean species (about 45-110 μg g-1) compared with tropical species (lower than 30 μg g-1). Chemical speciation of arsenic was investigated in representative species from the three studied taxa; the predominance of organic forms confirmed the general tendency of marine organisms to bioaccumulate non-toxic arsenic compounds, probably resulting from a detoxification pathway.

If you check this evidence (oh yeah, that journal is also real) you could see that to get lethal dose of arsenic (suppose it could be transformed into arsenic, because in reality, we eat arsenobetaine, which is relatively non toxic) in tropical zone, you need to eat around 6.7 kilograms of prawn. That is crazy if not stupid!

There ends my journey to pursuit the perfect truth and deliver the correct verdict;

eat prawn with vitamin C is

NOT DANGEROUS!