Evaluation of Cytotoxicity Induced by the Anti-Cancerous Drugs Doxorubicin and Erlotinib in Allium cepa Assay for Eco-Safety Monitoring

抄録

Allium cepa assay is performed to evaluate the cytotoxicity of anti-cancerous drugs namely, Doxorubicin and Erlotinib. The doses administered are much lower than the pharmaceutical concentrations. The objective of the work is to determine the safe dose(s) of the drugs after disposal to the environment for eco-safety monitoring. Assessments of mitotic indices and cytological aberrations observed in dividing and resting cells to untreated control suggest that the doses employed are sub-lethal to lethal. Types of cytological abnormalities encountered in treated cells indicate that both the drugs are clastogenic (fragments, rings, bridges, and cells with micronucleus) apart from affecting the spindle apparatus (vagrant chromosomes and multipolarity) and cellular metabolism (stickiness of chromosomes and giant cells formation). The present results can be used as an index for safe dose(s) monitoring of the drugs for ecological safety.