Cytotoxicity and Mito-depressive Effect of Synthetic Lemon Flavour Food Dye on Allium Cepa Root Tips

Ahmed, Aveen M. N.; Hussein, Nasreen J.; Abbas, Awat M.; Abdulrahman, Shamiran S.; Fattah, Yousif M.; Naeem, Muhammad Y.; Selamoglu, Zeliha; Khalid, Aveen Kh.

doi:10.21608/eajbsc.2024.367781

Cytotoxicity and Mito-depressive Effect of Synthetic Lemon Flavour Food Dye on Allium Cepa Root Tips

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Zakho University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Duhok, Iraq.

² Department of Plant Production and Technologies, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Türkiye.

³ Department of Medical Biology, Medicine Faculty, Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Türkiye.

10.21608/eajbsc.2024.367781

Abstract

Synthetic food dyes have garnered significant attention due to potential health risks, including cytotoxicity, allergenicity, and even carcinogenicity observed in animal models. Given the widespread use of artificial food dyes in the food industry and potential concerns regarding their safety, this investigation could explore the influence of a lemon-flavored food dye on Allium cepa L.. Onion root tip meristems were exposed to various concentrations (0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, and 2%) of food dye in aqueous solutions for 24 hours at room temperature. A concentration-dependent detrimental effect was observed on all evaluated morphological parameters, including root number, root length, dry weight, and wet weight, with the control group exhibiting the highest values and the 2% treatment group displaying the lowest. Mitotic analysis revealed normal cell division in the control group, but increasing food dye concentrations induced a spectrum of chromosomal aberrations, suggesting disruption of spindle fibers and chromosome cohesion defects. The control group displayed the highest mitotic index (MI) of 9.2, with a positive correlation observed between increasing food dye concentration and the frequency of mitotic abnormalities (0.3 in control vs. 16.8 at 2% treatment). The most prevalent abnormality was multipolar anaphase (5.4 at 2% treatment), while anaphase bridge displayed the lowest incidence (1.7 at 2% treatment). This is evidenced by the significant decrease in root growth parameters (length and number) and (MI), a key indicator of cell division activity. Furthermore, the observed chromosomal aberrations, including sticky metaphase, C-mitosis, laggard chromosomes, anaphase bridges, and multipolar anaphase, are strong indicators of potential genotoxicity.

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