The aim of the present study was to evaluate the genotoxic effect of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), beet (Beta vulgaris L.), broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica), and kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) grown in vegetable garden built on the deposits of coal tailings. For this, we used 72 healthy male Swiss albino mice that received juice from the vegetables in an acute or chronic treatment. Using comet assay, we determined that acute administration of the juices of all vegetables from the coal-mining area was genotoxic, and increased the DNA damage in the blood, liver, and cerebral cortex of mice. Therefore, the present data suggest that intake of vegetables cultivated over coal waste results in an increase in DNA damage in some organs; this situation may pose a risk to health.
Keywords: Coal; DNA damage; comet assay; vegetables.