Abstract
Objective: Arsenic has cytotoxic as well as mutagenic effect in human health due to its indirect effect on oxidative stress on the cells. We aimed to find out the effect of gallic acid (GA), a well-known natural antioxidant in ameliorating in heavy metal toxicity.
 Methods: MTT assay was performed to determine the cytotoxicity of sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) on HepG2 cells with the cytoprotectant GA at varying concentrations for exposure durations of 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h. Similarly, the alkaline version of the comet assay was performed to investigate the genotoxicity and assessment of oxidative stress of the cells using flow cytometry.
 Results: Cells treated with NaAsO2 at various doses spanning a broad range of concentrations (5–500 μM) showed a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cellular viability as observed. However, the effect of the proposed protectant, GA showed an increase in cellular viability in a concentration-dependent manner.
 Conclusion: We assessed the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by NaAsO2 to provide insight into the role of GA on arsenic-induced toxicity in liver cells and to shed light on its possible ameliorative effect at low concentrations in a time-dependent manner.
Highlights
Arsenic (As) is a semi-metallic compound that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust
Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle’s Medium (DMEM) and 0.1% Trypsin were obtained from HiMedia, fetal bovine serum (FBS), 3-(4,5-dimethyl2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT), ethidium bromide (EtBr), Agarose, Triton X-100, and dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) dye were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Bangalore, India
Effect of gallic acid (GA) on cellular viability by arsenite-induced toxicity assessed by MTT assay The effect of the proposed protectant, GA was evaluated by the MTT assay in a dose-dependent (5–30 μM) and time-dependent increase in cellular viability (6–24 h), wherein increasing concentrations of GA on the cells showed a steady increase in cellular viability (~100%) with no significant differences observed between the control and the treatments
Summary
Arsenic (As) is a semi-metallic compound that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust. It is primarily found in environmental sources such as soil, rocks, water, and air and occurs in combination with other elements. The occurrence of increased levels of arsenic is found in groundwater sources as compared to surface water sources such as rivers and lakes. This could occur due to contaminated groundwater caused by the accumulation of arsenic compounds on the bedrock, which further enters water sources through erosion [3]. Depending on the type of exposure to arsenic compounds, acute and chronic effects are typically observed. Associations between the exposure of arsenite during pregnancy and its effect on infant health and mortality have been correlated to studies related to impaired cognitive development [8]
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