2020 Volume 85 Issue 4 Pages 325-332
The toxic effect of iron in nano-composite and salt form was tested on onion (Allium cepa L.) root tip cells in this study. Heavy metals are core pollutants of the environment but their toxicity is dose dependant and has an issue in the state of Odisha particularly in iron contaminated soil for crop production and its food chain associated human health hazard. Plants growing in such an environment are the mute witnesses to these contaminations and crop plants played a major role as carriers of heavy metal. Onion is a biomarker that is used for various genotoxic studies as it has large chromosomes, pronounced mitotic phases in the root tip. Root growth dynamics are very sensitive to any kind of pollution. Iron accumulation within the plants can be toxic at the cellular level. Stable iron oxide/ silica nano-composite (Fe2O3 NC) is characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). An increase in chromosomal aberrations in root meristems along with lipid peroxidation and a decrease in SOD activity was clearly seen after treatment with FeNC. Since, iron oxide nanocomposites, owing to their submicron dimension, permeate into the intracellular space and produce hydrogen peroxide that leads to an increase in an oxidative burst in the cell. To mitigate oxidative damage, scavenging of antioxidative enzymes were found in FeNC treatment more as compare to its salt form. However, a high dose of FeNC found carcinogenic in A. cepa root tip that might have the potential for human health hazards.
