Impact of extraction methods on Monte Carlo based dietary health risk assessment of potentially harmful elements in edible plants.

Accurate assessment of health risks from potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in edible plants is critical for public health. This study evaluated carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), tin (Sn), and thallium (Tl) in commonly consumed plants, emphasizing the impact of extraction method selection on risk estimates. Seven extraction procedures, namely TC, BCR, USEPA, ISO, UBM, SBET, and PBET, were applied to reflect different bioaccessibility scenarios. Monte Carlo simulations using Polish dietary consumption data quantified exposure and associated risks. The TC method consistently produced the highest risk values, potentially overestimating risk, whereas bioaccessibility-based methods yielded more realistic estimates. Gastric-phase extractions resulted in higher non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) values than intestinal-phase extractions. Sensitivity analysis identified PHE concentration as the main contributor to risk variability, with ingestion rate having a smaller but notable effect. These results demonstrate that health risk estimates vary substantially with extraction method and highlight the value of combining bioaccessibility-based and probabilistic modeling to improve accuracy and reduce uncertainty in dietary risk assessment of PHEs.