Arsenic is present in water, soil, and air in organic as well as in inorganic forms. However, inorganic arsenic is more toxic than organic and can cause many diseases including cancers in humans. Its genotoxic effect is considered as one of its carcinogenic actions. Arsenic can cause DNA strand breaks, deletion mutations, micronuclei formation, DNA-protein cross-linking, sister chromatid exchange, and DNA repair inhibition. Evidences indicate that arsenic causes DNA damage by generation of reactive free radicals. Nutritional supplementation of antioxidants has been proven highly beneficial against arsenic genotoxicity in experimental animals. Recent studies suggest that antioxidants protect mainly by reducing excess free radicals via restoring the activities of cellular enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic antioxidants and decreasing the oxidation processes such as lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent literature on arsenic-induced genotoxicity and its mitigation by naturally derived antioxidants in various biological systems.
Keywords: Antioxidants; Free radicals; Genotoxicity; Inorganic arsenic; Oxidative stress.