Cytogenetic effects of two food preservatives, Sodium Metabisulphate and Sodium Benzoate on root tips of Allium cepa Linn
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Date
2012-06
Authors
Onyemaobi, O.I.
Williams, G. O.
Adekoya, K.O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Science Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile -Ife Nigeria
Abstract
Allium cepa assay has been used extensively to determine the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of compounds on
plants and animals. The cytogenetic effects of two commonly used food preservatives, sodium benzoate and
sodium metabisulphite were evaluated using the A. cepa assay. The parameters scored for the different
concentrations of the compounds tested are: root length, chromosomal aberrations and Mitotic Index. The
Mitotic Index (MI) decreased with increasing concentration of both sodium benzoate and sodium
metabisulphite. Cytological aberrations observed were clumping, fragmentation, pulverization, lagging,
binucleate cells and reduction in chromatin materials. Clumping and fragmentation were the most frequent
aberrations. The percentage of chromosomal aberrations at mitosis increased with increase in concentration of
the food preservatives. The effects of sodium metabisulphite at the different concentrations in this study were
very detrimental as more aberrations were recorded even after the recovery experiment. The results of this
experiment show that these additives had irreversible cytotoxic effects at some levels of dosage. It supports the
call for the banning of these substances as food preservatives.
Description
Keywords
Chromosome Aberrations , Food Preservatives , Mitotic Index , Allium cepa Assay
Citation
Onyemaobi, O.I., Williams, G.O., and Adekoya, K.O. (2012). Cytogenetic effects of two food preservatives, Sodium Metabisulphate and Sodium Benzoate on root tips of Allium cepa Linn. Ife Journal of Science 14(1): 155 -165.