European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A REVIEW ARTICLE ON RECENT ADVANCEMENT IN ANTIOXIDANT AND PHYTOCONSTITUENTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF ARSENIC POISONING

Md. Mohiuddin and Fareeda Begum*

ABSTRACT

Arsenic is one of the most toxic heavy metal derived from the natural environment. The major cause of human arsenic toxicity is from contamination of drinking water from natural geological sources rather than from mining, smelting or agricultural sources (pesticides or fertilizers). Arsenic toxicity has been associated with numerous health effects affecting almost every organ system. These adverse effects have been identified to establish or facilitate various diseases manifestations. Treatment of arsenic-mediated disorders still remains a challenge due to lack of effective options. Chelating therapy has been the most widely used method to detoxify arsenic. As most of the adverse effects of arsenic arise due to induction of oxidative stress, anti oxidant therapy has emerged as an efficient strategy to counteract arsenic mediated toxic effects. It has been discovered that indigenous drugs of plant origin display effective and progressive relief from arsenic-mediated toxicity without any side-effects. Further, these phytochemicals have also been found to aid the elimination of arsenic from the biological system and therefore can be more effective than conventional therapeutic agents in ameliorating arsenic-mediated toxicity.

Keywords: Arsenic, chelation, phytochemicals, Anti-Oxidant.