EXCESSIVE ARSENIC CONTENT IN THE SOIL MAY BE INJURIOUS TO HEALTH : A GENOTOXIC STUDY FROM JAJJAL, PUNJAB

Occurrence of high frequency of malignancy among the residents of this cotton growing region of Punjab and the presence of arsenic in the soil have necessitated the assessment of its genotoxic potential. This study has been carried out to test the genotoxicity of the soils from three sites, i.e. tube-well irrigated field, canal irrigated field and non-irrigated area, of Jajjal village of Talwandi Sabo Block of Punjab (India) using Allium assay. Bulblets (cloves) of Allium sativum were treated with 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100% W/V of the soil extracts for 48h and tap water was used for control. In the chromosome aberration assay, root tip cells of Allium sativum were scored for the presence of various mitotic abnormalities. Bridges and fragments were scored as indicators of clastogenicity and laggards or vagrant chromosomes were indicators of spindle poisoning. Tubewell irrigated soils were observed to be more genotoxic than the other soil samples.