IMPORTANCE OF SALIVA AS A BIOMARKER OF ARSENIC AND OTHER HEAVY METALS IN HUMANS

Arsenic contamination of drinking water around the world has turned into one of the worst catastrophes of the human society since the late 20th century. There have been several studies that have documented the high concentration of arsenic in groundwater and associated health effect. However, there has been limited studies that have researched on the effect of other metals apart from arsenic in groundwater. In this connection, there have been several biomarkers that have been used in the past to biomonitors the health effect of the affected population. However, saliva has been mostly ignored as a biomonitoring tool in most epidemiological studies. This study discusses the As concentrations in saliva samples collected from affected population in West Bengal, India. Significant (p < 0.05) association between the Log-transformed Daily Ingestion of As (μg d-1) and the As concentration in saliva (r = 0.68) was found. . Another important toxic metal in the study area is manganese (Mn) with the average concentration of 202±153 mg L-1 , the range of 18–604 mg L-1. Other elements in groundwater were Cr, Mo, Ni, Pb, Ba, Zn, Se, U The high concentrations of salivary As and Mn are indicative of ingestion through groundwater. The studies reveal that saliva can be used as an important biomonitoring tool. It also shows the concentration of other metals apart from As should be monitored in drinking water before implementation of any policies related to safe water supply to affected communities.