European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ASSESSMENT OF TOTAL IRON CONTENT IN SCALP HAIR SAMPLES OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE VICINITY OF HUDIARA DRAIN, AMRITSAR, PUNJAB

Zorawar Singh, Jaswinder Singh*, Udesha, Kulbir Singh Bath, Neelam Gulati Sharma

ABSTRACT

Industrial effluents are a matter of concern. Different industries generate huge amounts of effluents, some of which are treated and rest are thrown in water bodies. Hudiara drain in Amritsar city of Punjab state is known to carry the wastewater of different industries. In this biomonitoring study, the concentration of iron (Fe) was determined using the scalp hair samples of people living in the vicinity of Hudiara drain. For the present study, 35 subjects were chosen from the affected area. Same number of subjects (N = 35) were chosen as controls with respect to age, sex and socioeconomic strata which were not exposed to the effect of Hudiara drain effluents. The present study reveals a significant increase in the total iron content in the scalp hair samples of the exposed group as compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusively the people residing in the vicinity of Hudiara drain were advised to take care of the drinking water quality and water purifying measures.

Keywords: Trace metals, Iron, Hudiara drain, Scalp hair, Amritsar.