Evaluation of impact of sewage irrigation on cytotoxicological potentialities of Chenopodium album in Allium assay.

Chenopodium album is a weed commonly consumed by North Indian population as vegetable. Plants are known to accumulate toxins from their environment. Presently, the leaf homogenates of these plants growing in a tubewell irrigated field and a sewage irrigated field were evaluated for cytotoxicological effects in Allium root tip assay. Studies revealed that Chenopodium album was mildly mitodepressive in nature and was capable of inducing chromosomal aberrations. The leaf homogenate of the plants growing in sewage irrigated fields induced more quantum of aberrations than the plants from the control site. This has a direct bearing on consumability of sewage grown vegetables and fodder.