Assessment of histological alterations induced by heavy metal exposure on earthworms

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of heavy metals viz. arsenic and chromium on the vital tissue of tropical earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae i.e. intestine. The earthworms were exposed to 24h with varying concentrations. Chromium was found to cause more deleterious effect, damaging the cellular portion of the intestinal region. In general, earthworms can be used as biomarkers in toxicity studies related to heavy metals at cellular levels and the observed trends could be taken as an early warning to the imminent threats of heavy metal pollution to epigeic earthworm species.