The As concentrations in the extracts were analyzed by using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES; ICP-730ES, Varian, USA). The method detection limit for As was 0.072 mg kg 1.
Statistical analysis was conducted using Excel 14.0 (Microsoft Corporation, USA) and the
statistical significance of differences in As concentrations was determined by using the Student’st-test at 5% significance level.