Study on the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of perchlorate in different food matrices in vitro

•Bioaccessibility and bioavailability of perchlorate were evaluated by in vitro model.•Bioaccessibility and bioavailability of perchlorate were affected by food matrices.•The bioavailability of perchlorate provided the basis for assessment of internal exposure. Perchlorate, a persistent pollutant, interferes with iodine uptake by the thyroid. Perchlorate exposure mainly occurs through ingested food; understanding the bioaccessibility and bioavailability of perchlorate in foods facilitate more accurate human health risk assessments. An in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model was used for this research. The bioaccessibility of perchlorate in the control group, lettuce, rice and formula was 93.45%, 70.14%, 70.25%, and 63.68%, respectively. The bioavailability of perchlorate was as follows: control group, 43.45%; rice, 37.17%; lettuce, 35.13%; and formula, 30.72%. The absorptive apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) of the control, lettuce, rice, and formula was 30–101 nm/s, 32–65 nm/s, 54–161 nm/s, and 41–88 nm/s, respectively. The results suggested that the risk from perchlorate was overestimated only when considering the content of perchlorate in foods and that the presence of food matrices reduced perchlorate bioavailability by differing degrees.