Aristolochic acid (AAs) is well known for its carcinogenicity and nephrotoxicity showed in weight loss treatment events in Belgium, as well as other safety problems in Taiwan and the Danube region. Nowadays, it becomes a serious worldwide problem due to multiple exposure ways and severe health hazard. Misuse of AA-containing plants, the contact to contaminated soil, the uptake of contaminated food and the occupational exposure are the main ways of human exposed directly or indirectly to AAs. In order to prevent the uptake of AAs, we should first understand the process of AAs' transportation and transformation in the environment and play an important role in controlling the fate and transportation of AAs. The absorption efficiency of AAs by plants under different acidity and alkalinity was investigated. In addition, the DNA-AAI adduct will be formed after AAs entering into the human body and may cause serious kidney disease. This study included measuring AAI-DNA in all major organs of rats and calculating the half-life of adducts. The DNA-AAI repair is also discussed because the mechanism still remains unclear. The DNA-AAI adduct level was also identified in wildtype of E.coli and Gene knock-out strains to elucidate the key gene or protein related to the adduct repair.

It is anticipated that the food monitoring and fate studies of AAs could contribute to the dietary exposure risk assessment via direct or modeling estimation. Furthermore, the development of biomarkers for AAs and their derivatizes is expected to assess the toxicity of them and thus established the strict regulations on AAs.