The Cytotoxic Effects of Benzoic Acid and Coumarin on Allium cepa var. cepa Dikilitas Salih1,*, Tütünoglu Burçak2, Aksoy Özlem3, Rind Nadir Ali4 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey 2Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey 3Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey 4Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan *Corresponding author email id: salih.dikilitas@kocaeli.edu.tr
Abstract Benzoic acid and coumarin are found naturally in many plants and can be used as food additives in various food products. They are also synthetic allelopathic chemicals that inhibit plant growth and development. The cytotoxic effects of different concentrations of benzoic acid (30 ppm and 60 ppm) and coumarin (0.2 ppm and 0.4 ppm) were investigated on Allium cepa. EC50 (effective concentration) values were calculated according to relative reduction in root length (T/C %) after 72-h treatment. Germination percentages of primary A. cepa roots decreased with increasing concentrations of benzoic acid but not for coumarin. This is maybe a cause of hormesis effect. Cytological observations showed that the mitotic frequency in root meristematic cells decreased with increasing concentration of benzoic acid. Mitotic frequency increased with increasing concentration with coumarin treatment. Abnormality frequency increased in all concentrations of benzoic acid and coumarin when compared with the control group. Top Keywords Benzoic acid, Coumarin, Allium cepa, Mitosis, Mitotic abnormality. Top |