The effects of sodium metabisulfite (SMB) on mitosis were investigated in Allium cepa L. The roots of A. cepa were treated with SMB concentrations of mg/lt, 15 mg/lt and 30 mg/lt for 10- and 20-hour treatment periods. SMB significantly decreased the mitotic index (MI) at all concentrations and treatment periods. | Turk J Biol 25 (2001) 361-370 © TÜB‹TAK The Cytogenetic Effects of Sodium Metabisulfite, a Food Preservative in Root Tip Cells of Allium cepa L. Eyyüp RENCÜZO⁄ULLARI Çukurova University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, 01330 Adana-TURKEY Ahmet KAYRALDIZ, Hasan Basri ‹LA, Tonguz ÇAKMAK Çukurova University, Institute of Natural and Applied Sciences, Department Biology, 01330 Adana-TURKEY Mehmet TOPAKTAfi Çukurova University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, 01330 Adana-TURKEY Received: Abstract : The effects of sodium metabisulfite (SMB) on mitosis were investigated in Allium cepa L. The roots of A. cepa were treated with SMB concentrations of mg/lt, 15 mg/lt and 30 mg/lt for 10- and 20-hour treatment periods. SMB significantly decreased the mitotic index (MI) at all concentrations and treatment periods. While the decreasing of the MI was dose-dependent at 10 hours treatment time, SMB increased the mitotic abnormalities dose dependently. Key Words: Allium cepa, Sodium Metabisulfite, Mitosis, Food Preservative G›dalarda Antimikrobiyal Madde Olarak Kullan›lan Sodyum Metabisulfit’in Allium cepa L.’nin Kök Ucu Hücrelerinde Sitogenetik Etkileri Özet : Bu çal›flmada sodyum metabisulfit’in (SMB) Allium cepa L’nin mitoz bölünme geçiren hücrelerinde sitogenetik etkileri araflt›r›lm›flt›r. A. cepa kökleri mg/lt, 15 mg/lt ve 30 mg/lt konsantrasyonlar›ndaki SMB ile 10 ve 20 saat muamele edilmifltir. SMB, bütün konsantrasyon ve muamele sürelerinde mitotik indeks’i (MI) kontrola nazaran önemli derecede düflürmüfltür. SMB, 10 saatlik muamele süresinde MI’i doza ba¤l› olarak azalt›rken, mitotik anormallikleri doza ba¤l› olarak artt›rm›flt›r. Anahtar Sözcükler: Allium cepa, Sodyum Metabisulfite, Mitoz, G›da Koruyucu maddeler 361 The Cytogenetic Effects of Sodium Metabisulfite, a Food Preservative in Root Tip Cells of Allium cepa L. Introduction The population of the world is increasing. This increase has led to .
