Chandan et al. European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research www.ejpmr.com 603 EFFECT OF ARSENIC INDUCED TOXICITY IN THE PROSTATE GLAND OF SWISS ALBINO MICE *Chandan Kumar Singh, Preety Sinha and Aseem Kumar Anshu Department of Zoology, A. N. College, Patna, Bihar, India. Article Received on 20/03/2018 Article Revised on 11/04/2018 Article Accepted on 02/05/2018 INTRODUCTION Heavy metal is found naturally in the earth crust. Contamination of arsenic in the drinking water has adverse effect on the human health. Arsenic is a ubiquitous metalloid found naturally in water bodies like river and underground water in the form of inorganic arsenic. Among inorganic arsenic, derivatives like arenic trioxide, sodium arsenite and arsenic trichloride are the most common forms of arsenic found in environment. The possible routes of exposure to arsenic are soil, water, air, or food. [1,2] According to a report, arsenic concentration as high as 50 ppb in drinking water of Supaul and Madhepura ditrict of Bihar was recorded, which is five times higher than the WHO limit. [3] Arsenic contamination of underground water had already been reported in 20 countries out of which major incident were from Asia. [4,5,6] Arsenic-related groundwater problems have emerged in different Asian countries, including new sites in China, Mongolia, Nepal, Cambodia, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Pakistan. [7] The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified arsenic and its compounds as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), on the basis of sufficient evidence for their carcinogenicity in human. [8] Inorganic arsenic has been suggested to develop cancer of skin, prostate, liver and lung. [9] The non-cancer effects of arsenic include keratosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, pigmentation etc. [10] Arsenic accumulation in the rice (Oryza sativa) has shown to have potential health risk to the high rice-consuming populations. [11,13] Inorganic form of arsenic are implicated to be more toxic than its organic forms (Monomethylarsenic acid and dimethyarsenic acid). [14] A very high mortality rate of prostate cancer in U.S population was reported due to exposure of arsenic. [12] Arsenic contamination in drinking water has become serious concern and greatly impacting the human health. Hence, this study has been taken up to examine the endocrine disrupting activity of arsenic and its carcinogenic potential in prostate glands of Swiss albino mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the present study, male Swiss albino mice were chosen as an animal model to investigate the toxic effect of arsenic on prostate glands. Sodium arsenite was administered to Swiss albino mice by oral gavage method as 2.0 mg/kg body weight/day. Animals: Swiss albino mice (Musmusculus) were reared in the animal house of Mahavir Cancer Institute and Research, Patna. 12 weeks old mice were weighed (30±2 grams) and selected for the experiment. The mice were kept in the polypropylene cages with paddy husk at room temperature 28±2ºC and humidity 50±5% in a controlledlight (12 hrs light and 12 hrs dark). Animals were maintained in ideal conditions as per the ethical guidelines of the CPCSEA, (CPCSEA SJIF Impact Factor 4.897 Research Article ISSN 2394-3211 EJPMR EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL AND MEDICAL RESEARCH www.ejpmr.com ejpmr, 2018,5(5), 603-607 *Corresponding Author: Chandan Kumar Singh Department of Zoology, A. N. College, Patna, Bihar, India. ABSTRACT Arsenic is a ubiquitous metalloid found naturally in underground water in the form of inorganic arsenic. Arsenic exposure has been associated with several diseases including cancer. Arsenic is a potent endocrine disruptor and a carcinogen. In this study, toxic effects of arsenic were examined in vivo in Swiss albino mice as animal model. The mice were selected with body weight of 28±3.0g (mean±standard deviation). Sodium arsenite was administered orally as 2.0 mg/kg body weight /ml for 04 weeks, 06 weeks, 13weeks, 26weeks. Cellular architecture was studied by histopathology. PSA (Prostate specific antigen) and accumulation of arsenic in prostate tissue of male mice was estimated by ELISA and AAS method respectively. Sodium arsenite level was observed to be significantly higher in group II than group I (P-value < 0.005). PSA levels were recorded to be significantly elevated in group II than group I (P-value< 0.028). Significant histopathological changes were also observed in prostate glands of arsenic treated mice. The present finding in mice is very significant for better understanding of endocrine disrupting potential of arsenic.