Chemical Science International Journal

The potential genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of water effluent from a pharmaceutical industry in Ogidi, Anambra State, Nigeria was evaluated using Allium cepa Linn assay. This is an alternate first-tier assay to experiments on animals for preliminary toxicity screening in accordance with the council directive 86/609/EEC art-23 that encourages research on alternative techniques to animals’ use. The cytotoxic effects were evaluated on the basis of strong growth retardation in high concentrations of the effluent that resulted in root growth inhibition. Data collected were statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Results obtained showed that root growth inhibition was 5.33 to 1.33 while decrease in mitotic index from 68.4 to 52.8 which were statistically significant (p<0.05). Genotoxicity based on chromosomal aberrations induced in the onion root tips include sticky chromosomes, bridges, laggard, vagrant, polar deviation and polyploidy. Concentrations of heavy metals Zn, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni and Cu, in the contaminated samples were 0.010, 0.006, 0.003, 0.300, 0.018 and 0.020 g/kg respectively. These concentrations far exceeded the EPA recommended limit. Chromium concentration in the effluent was found to be the highest and may be responsible for the observed genotoxic effects on the onion root tip cells. This study therefore, establishes the potential cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of this pharmaceutical waste on the environment.