Exposure Assessment of Oxalate from the Native Vegetables Among the Dusun Ethnic Group in Sabah, Malaysia.

Background: Determination of the potentially toxic native vegetables was done through interviews of plant informants. Quantification of oxalate were done by using picrate oxalate kit. There were nine species of potentially toxic native vegetables from the Poaceae and Araceae family identified by the plant informants in Ranau, Tambunan and Kuala Penyu. Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the potentially toxic native vegetables consumed by the Dusun ethnic group in Sabah and to assess the exposure level to oxalates found in the native vegetables among the consumers. Results: The total oxalate content ranged from 19.65 – 64.06 mg/100g for raw samples which decreased to 2.33 – 5.40 mg/100g after boiling. Exposure assessment calculation showed that the exposure to oxalate from native vegetables consumption among the Dusun ethnic in Ranau, Tambunan and Kuala Penyu are considered below the safe level. The highest dose of exposure calculated for male respondents was 0.0270% from the reported fatal dose and 0.058% from the reported fatal dose among female respondents.. Conclusion: In conclusion, all nine species of native vegetables in this study contain oxalate. However, proper processing method before consumption may reduce the potential toxicity of the native vegetables and reduce the exposure to a safer level.