Association between Autism and Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, Manganese Levels in Hair and Urine

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by stereotypic/repetitive behavior, impaired communication, imagination and social interactions. Recently, studies have investigated the possible association between the etiology of autism and potential roles of various environmental agents, especially heavy metals. The aim of the present study was to examine levels of toxic metals in hair and urine samples of an autistic child. The levels of lead, cadmium, arsenic and manganese in hair and urine of this child were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry and compared with those of healthy children who had bee n assessed in previous studies. The autistic child had higher hair levels of lead （0.80 μg/g vs. 0.01 μg/g）, cadmium （0.083 μg/g vs. 0.06 μg/g） and arsenic （0.09 μg/g vs. 0.06 μg/g）. Urine levels of lead （12.54 μg/L vs. 3.36 μg/L） and cadmium （3.24 μg/L vs. 0.53μg/L） were higher than those of controls; whereas arsenic levels in urine were lower （6.81 μg/L vs. 32.06 μg/L）. Hair and urine samples of this autistic child contained lower concentrations of manganese （0.12 μg/g and 0.028 μg/g） as compared to healthy children （0.41 μg/L and 4.81μg/L）. In conclusion, our study demonstrated elevation in the levels of lead, cadmium and arsenic in a child with autism.

Gene expression alteration during redox-dependent enhancement of arsenic cytotoxicity by emodin in HeLa cells

Emodin (1,3,8-trihydroxy-6-methylanthraquinone) could enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to arsenic trioxide(As2O3)–induced apoptosis via generation of ROS, but the molecular mechanism has not been elucidated. Here, wecarried out cDNA microarray-based global transcription profiling of HeLa cells in response to As2O3/emodin cotreatment,comparing with As2O3–only treatment. The results showed that the expression of a number of genes was substantiallyaltered at two time points. These genes are involved in different aspects of cell function. In addition to redox regulationand apoptosis, ROS affect genes encoding proteins associated with cell signaling, organelle functions, cell cycle,cytoskeleton, etc. These data suggest that based on the cytotoxicity of As2O3, emodin mobilize every genomic resourcethrough which the As2O3–induced apoptosis is facilitated.

Bibliometric analysis of research on soil arsenic during 2005–2016

Bibliometrics is an important branch in the field of information science,and it is widely used in many disciplines in modern research.A current active research subject can be analyzed and summarized from many aspects,such as the core institutions,core authors,highly cited papers,and keywords by using bibliometrics.This paper describes a bibliometric analysis regarding soil arsenic content by using the database from Web of Science to compare relevant research from work done domestically and abroad from 2005 to 2016.The results show that the relevant publications in China and overseas both dramatically increased from 2009,which indicates that research activity is expanding.The USA produced 27.3%of all relevant articles followed by China with 26.9%and India with 9.5%.Key issues mainly focused on agriculture and environmental science.Major journals studied include the following:Science of the Total Environment,Environmental and Experimental Botany,Environmental Pollution,Chemosphere,Journal of Hazardous Materials,Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering,Journal of Geochemical Exploration,Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety,Environmental Research,Talanta,and Applied Geochemistry.These are the most important journals in this field.In light of cooperation between countries,it is clear that China and the United States occupy the leading position.

Mechanism research on arsenic removal from arsenopyrite ore during a sintering process

The mechanism of arsenic removal during a sintering process was investigated through experiments with a sintering pot and arsenic-bearing iron ore containing arsenopyrite; the corresponding chemical properties of the sinter were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The experimental results revealed that the reaction of arsenic removal is mainly related to the oxygen atmosphere and temperature. During the sintering process, arsenic could be removed in the ignition layer, the sinter layer, and the combustion zone. A portion of FeAsS reacted with excess oxygen to generate FeAsO4, and the rest of the FeAsS reacted with oxygen to generate As2O3(g) and SO2(g). A portion of As2O3(g) mixed with Al2O3or CaO, which resulted in the formation of arsenates such as AlAsO4and Ca3(AsO4)2, leading to arsenic residues in sintering products. The FeAsS component in the blending ore was difficult to decompose in the preliminary heating zone, the dry zone, or the bottom layer because of the relatively low temperatures; however, As2O3(g) that originated from the high-temperature zone could react with metal oxides, resulting in the formation of arsenate residues. © 2017, University of Science and Technology Beijing and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Control of arsenic Pollution from waste gases during fabrication of semiconductor

The abatement technology of toxic arsenic pollution during fabrication of semiconductormaterials and devices has been studied.

Experimental Study on the Removal of Arsenic in Waste Water from Semiconductor Manufacturing

An effective and economic process for removing arsenic in waste water which is acuminating in the process of etching, cutting and washing in semiconductor industry has been developed in this paper. The proposed technique of arsenic removal is as follows: first pretreatment step is to oxidize arsenite to arsenate by potas-sium permanganate, second key step is precipitation based on arsenic compound solubility with ferric sulfate and slaked lime under pH adjustment, and the last complementary step is followed by the adsorption of the bentonite with enhanced by activated carbon and organic adsorbent. Experimental results show that under the optimal condition the removal efficiency of arsenic in the waste water is better than 99.99%, or the concen-tration of arsenic is from its original 100mg/l reduced to less than 10µg/l accordingly.

φ-pH diagram of As-N-Na-H_2O system for arsenic removal during alkaline pressure oxidation leaching of lead anode slime

In order to illustrate the thermodynamic characteristics of arsenic during alkaline pressure oxidation leaching process oflead anode slime(NaNO3as oxidant;NaOH as alkaline reagent),theφ-pH diagrams of As-Na-H2O,N-H2O,As-N-Na-H2Osystems at ionic mass concentration of0.1mol/kg and temperatures of298,373,423and473K were established according tothermodynamic calculation.The results show that the existence forms of arsenic are associated with pH value,which mainly exists inthe forms of H3AsO4,24H AsO-,24HAsO-,H2AsO2-and As2O3in lower pH region,while it mainly exists in the form of3AsO4-when pH>11.14.High alkali concentration and high temperature are advantageous to the arsenic leaching.The alkaline pressureoxidation leaching experiments display that the tendency of arsenic leaching rate confirms the thermodynamic analysis resultsobtained from theφ-pH diagrams of As-N-Na-H2O system,and the highest leaching rate of arsenic reaches95.85%at453K.

Recycling arsenic-containing bio-leaching residue after thermal treatment in cemented paste backfill:Structure modification,binder properties and environmental assessment

The substantial arsenic(As)content present in arsenic-containing bio-leaching residue(ABR)presents noteworthy environ-mental challenges attributable to its inherent instability and susceptibility to leaching.Given its elevated calcium sulfate content,ABR exhibits considerable promise for industrial applications.This study delved into the feasibility of utilizing ABR as a source of sulfates for producing super sulfated cement(SSC),offering an innovative binder for cemented paste backfill(CPB).Thermal treatment at varying temperatures of 150,350,600,and 800℃ was employed to modify ABR’s performance.The investigation encompassed the examination of phase transformations and alterations in the chemical composition of As within ABR.Subsequently,the hydration characteristics of SSC utilizing ABR,with or without thermal treatment,were studied,encompassing reaction kinetics,setting time,strength development,and microstructure.The findings revealed that thermal treatment changed the calcium sulfate structure in ABR,consequently impacting the resultant sample performance.Notably,calcination at 600℃ demonstrated optimal modification effects on both early and long-term strength attributes.This enhanced performance can be attributed to the augmented formation of reaction products and a densified micro-structure.Furthermore,the thermal treatment elicited modifications in the chemical As fractions within ABR,with limited impact on the As immobilization capacity of the prepared binders.

Learning Discriminatory Information for Object Detection on Urine Sediment Image

In clinical practice,the microscopic examination of urine sediment is considered an important in vitro examination with many broad applications.Measuring the amount of each type of urine sediment allows for screening,diagnosis and evaluation of kidney and urinary tract disease,providing insight into the specific type and severity.However,manual urine sediment examination is labor-intensive,time-consuming,and subjective.Traditional machine learning based object detection methods require hand-crafted features for localization and classification,which have poor generalization capabilities and are difficult to quickly and accurately detect the number of urine sediments.Deep learning based object detection methods have the potential to address the challenges mentioned above,but these methods require access to large urine sediment image datasets.Unfortunately,only a limited number of publicly available urine sediment datasets are currently available.To alleviate the lack of urine sediment datasets in medical image analysis,we propose a new dataset named UriSed2K,which contains 2465 high-quality images annotated with expert guidance.Two main challenges are associated with our dataset:a large number of small objects and the occlusion between these small objects.Our manuscript focuses on applying deep learning object detection methods to the urine sediment dataset and addressing the challenges presented by this dataset.Specifically,our goal is to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the detection algorithm and,in doing so,provide medical professionals with an automatic detector that saves time and effort.We propose an improved lightweight one-stage object detection algorithm called Discriminatory-YOLO.The proposed algorithm comprises a local context attention module and a global background suppression module,which aid the detector in distinguishing urine sediment features in the image.The local context attention module captures context information beyond the object region,while the global background suppression module emphasizes objects in uninformative backgrounds.We comprehensively evaluate our method on the UriSed2K dataset,which includes seven categories of urine sediments,such as erythrocytes(red blood cells),leukocytes(white blood cells),epithelial cells,crystals,mycetes,broken erythrocytes,and broken leukocytes,achieving the best average precision(AP)of 95.3%while taking only 10 ms per image.The source code and dataset are available at https://github.com/binghuiwu98/discriminatoryyolov5.

Distribution and Contamination of Arsenic in Fish, Gastropods and Bivalves in the Aby and Tendo Lagoons in East of Ivory Coast

Lagoons are ecosystems for biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal communities. The main objective of the study was to analyze the variability of arsenic concentrations in gastropods and bivalves in the Aby and Tendo lagoons, taking into account spatial, seasonal and hydrological variations. The study was carried out in four stages spread over two successive hydroclimatic cycles, including two seasons during the rainy season and two more during the dry season. The samples were taken in two areas of the Aby and Tendo lagoons. Arsenic levels were measured by ICP-MS. The results showed that mean arsenic concentrations in the muscles of organisms in Aby Lagoon ranged from 0.01 to 1.26 μg As/g, with a mean and median of 0.17 and 0.06 μg As/g, respectively. Fish had the highest levels of arsenic, followed by crustaceans, while molluscs and plants had lower and comparable concentrations of As. Arsenic concentrations in tilapia and jawbones varied significantly between sites and seasons, with higher concentrations at Tendo and during the rainy season. Arsenic concentrations in gastropods and bivalves were significantly higher than those of other species, with averages of 0.74 and 1.03 mg As/kg, respectively.

Measurement of very low-molecular weight metabolites by traveling wave ion mobility and its use in human urine samples

The collision cross-sections(CCS)measurement using ion mobility spectrometry(IMS)in combination with mass spectrometry(MS)offers a great opportunity to increase confidence in metabolite identification.However,owing to the lack of sensitivity and resolution,IMS has an analytical challenge in studying the CCS values of very low-molecular-weight metabolites(VLMs250 Da).Here,we describe an analytical method using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC)coupled to a traveling wave ion mobility-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer optimized for the measurement of VLMs in human urine samples.The experimental CCS values,along with mass spectral properties,were reported for the 174 metabolites.The experimental data included the mass-to-charge ratio(m/z),retention time(RT),tandem MS(MS/MS)spectra,and CCS values.Among the studied metabolites,263 traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry(TWIMS)-derived CCS values(TWCCSN2)were reported for the first time,and more than 70%of these were CCS values of VLMs.The TWCCSN2 values were highly repeatable,with inter-day variations of<1%relative standard deviation(RSD).The developed method revealed excellent TWCCSN2 accuracy with a CCS difference(DCCS)within±2%of the reported drift tube IMS(DTIMS)and TWIMS CCS values.The complexity of the urine matrix did not affect the precision of the method,as evidenced by DCCS within±1.92%.According to the Metabolomics Standards Initiative,55 urinary metabolites were identified with a confidence level of 1.Among these 55 metabolites,53(96%)were VLMs.The larger number of confirmed compounds found in this study was a result of the addition of TWCCSN2 values,which clearly increased metabolite identification confidence.

Study on the influence of crown ether on arsenic behavior during coal pyrolysis

The influence of crown ether on behaviors of arsenic at different temperatures and residence time was investigated during the pyrolysis of Tuanbo （TB） coal. The modes of occurrence of arsenic were determined by sequential chemical extraction, density fractionation and demineralization. The results indicated that at the same temperature and residence time, the arsenic removal adding dibenzo-18-crown-6 was higher than that adding 18-crown-6, and were all higher than that of TB coal during pyrolysis. When temperature was 850 ℃ and residence time was 30 min, the arsenic removal of TB coal was 30.63%; at the same condition, the arsenic removal while adding 18-crown-6 was 33.21%, higher than that of TB coal; and the arsenic removal while adding dibenzo-18-crown-6 was 67.41%, significantly higher than that of TB coal. From the results, we can see that adding crown ether can improve the arsenic removal during coal pyrolysis, and especially be conducive to the arsenic which is mainly associated with sulfates ＆ monosulfides and that in stable forms.

The Fate of Agent Blue, the Arsenic Based Herbicide, Used in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War

The destruction of the South Vietnamese rice (Oryza sativa L) crop using an arsenic-based herbicide known as Agent Blue during the American Vietnam War (1965-1972) was not a secret;however, it received little media attention in the United States. Republic of Vietnam and United States (U.S.) militaries began destroying food crops (rice) in November of 1962 primarily via aerial applications in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Spraying of Agent Blue on 100,000 ha of mangrove forests and about 300,000 ha of rice paddies just before rice harvest time resulted in the destruction of the standing crop and rendered the land contaminated with arsenic (As). Six Rainbow herbicides, commonly called Agent Orange, Agent Green, Agent Pink, Agent Purple, Agent White, and Agent Blue, were sprayed on wetlands, rice paddies, forests, mangroves, bamboo and military base perimeter fences to defoliate jungle vegetation, reveal guerilla hiding places and destroy the food supply of enemy troops. South Vietnamese farmers, U.S. and Republic of Vietnam military personnel, and communist insurgents were exposed to these herbicides with immediate and longer term impacts on personal health, civilian household food security and population-wide famine. Agent Blue (cacodylic acid, C2H2AsO2,) was the most effective of all the Rainbow herbicides in killing rice and grasses. Manufacturing of cacodylic acid began in the late 1950s in the U.S. at the Ansul Company chemical plant in Marinette, Wisconsin and Menominee, Michigan. During the Vietnam War, ocean going ships were loaded with 208-liter Agent Blue barrels and shipped via the St. Lawrence Seaway to the coast of South Vietnam. Arsenic (As) is a naturally occurring element that is found throughout SE Asia deltas including the Mekong Delta. Today arsenic contaminated rice and groundwater are growing concerns as neither naturally occurring arsenic nor anthropic arsenic have a half-life and cannot be destroyed. Anthropic arsenic has remained in the Mekong Delta environment for the last 60 years and added to persistent As contamination in water supplies, sediments and soils. Water soluble arsenic primarily leaches into the soil root zone and the groundwater or is carried by floodwater into adjacent waterways or volatilized under anaerobic rice paddy conditions as gaseous arsine. The health of 15 million Vietnamese people living in the Mekong Delta is at risk from the combination of manufactured and natural As in drinking water and food supply. The As in the contaminated rice paddy soil, sediment and water is up taken by fish, shrimp or by crop vegetation and trace amounts can end up in the food supply (rice grain) or be bioaccumulated by the fish, shrimp and birds which when eaten were bioaccumulated in the Vietnamese people. It is urgent that elevated As concentrations in water supplies and agricultural products be identified and mitigated through better run-off control and groundwater management;improved rice genetics and alternate crop selections;shifts in crop management associated with tillage, fertilization and phosphorus use;and systematic monitoring of food and drinking water.

Landscape of urine biomarkers for bladder cancer:molecular function,cell-of-origin,and bibliometric trend

Background:The effective management of bladder cancer(BCa)depends on the early diagnosis and surveillance.Previous studies have explored numerous urinary molecules as potential biomarkers of BCa.However,the molecular functions and cell-of-origin profiles of these biomarkers are yet to be elucidated.In this study,we aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the landscape of urinary biomarker genes for BCa.Methods:We conducted an exhaustive literature search in PubMed,through which 555 biomarker genes were identified.We then analyzed the BCa single-cell atlas to infer the cellular origin of these BCa urine biomarker genes and performed functional enrichment analysis to gain insights into the functional molecular implications of these biomarkers.Results:These genes are involved in tumor proliferation,angiogenesis,cellmigration,and cell death and are predominantly expressed in epithelial and stromal cells.Interestingly,our analysis ofmultiomics tumor data revealed a discordance between tissue and urine in terms of differential methylation and RNA expression,suggesting that biomarker discovery for liquid biopsies should ideally begin with the analysis of bodily fluids rather than relying interest and that test strategies incorporating multiple molecular markers represent an ongoing trend.Conclusions:Collectively,our study has built a landscape of BCa urine biomarker genes,uncovered molecular insights into these biomarkers,and revealed the bibliometric trends in this field,which will contribute to the discovery of novel biomarkers in the future.

Roles of Aqueous Extract of Marigold on Arsenic-Induced Oxidative Damage in Pancreatic Islet β-Cells

Roles of Marigold extracts (ME) on arsenic trioxide (ATO)-induced oxidative damage to pancreatic β-cells need to be further elucidated. In this study, NIT-1 cells were treated with different concentrations of and/or ATO, following by the cell viability was detected by CCK8 assay. Then, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, lipid peroxide (MDA) contents and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured with a fluorescence probe method and colorimetric assay, respectively. The apoptosis rate and morphology was detected and observed with hoechst 33,258 staining assay. The mRNA levels and protein expressions of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were measured by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and protein immunoblotting assay, respectively. Our results indicated that Co-treatment with ME and ATO exacerbated the cell viability decreasing reduced by ATO, while the addition of ME after ATO treatment effectively promote the recovery of ATO reduced survival rates. The ATO group increased apoptosis (P P β-cells by modulating the activation of the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Arsenic and fluoride co-enrichment of groundwater in the loess areas and associated human health risks:A case study of Dali County in the Guanzhong Basin

This study aims to reveal the occurrence and origin of typical groundwater with high arsenic and fluoride concentrations in the loess area of the Guanzhong Basin—a Neogene faulted basin.Key findings are as follows:(1)Groundwater samples with high arsenic and fluoride concentrations collected from the loess area and the terraces of the Weihe River accounted for 26%and 30%,respectively,of the total samples,with primary hydrochemical type identified as HCO_(3)-Na.The karst and sand areas exhibit relatively high groundwater quality,serving as preferred sources for water supply.It is recommended that local governments fully harness groundwater in these areas;(2)groundwater with high arsenic and fluoride concentrations in the loess area and the alluvial plain of rivers in Dali County is primarily distributed within the Guanzhong Basin,which represents the drainage zone of groundwater;(3)arsenic and fluoride in groundwater originate principally from natural and anthropogenic sources;(4)the human health risk assessments reveal that long-term intake of groundwater with high arsenic and fluoride concentrations pose cancer or non-cancer risks,which are more serious to kids compared to adults.This study provides a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of groundwater with high arsenic and fluoride concentrations in loess areas.

Feasibility Evaluation of Using Biochar-based Permeable Reactive Barrier for the Remediation of Mercury and Arsenic Composite Polluted Water Bodies

This study employed a modified biochar material to construct a permeable reactive barrier(PRB)for the treatment of water bodies polluted with mercury and arsenic.The experimental results demonstrated that the addition of goethite-modified biochar significantly enhanced the remediation efficiency of As(III),achieving a maximum removal rate of 100%.Conversely,pure biochar exhibited high efficiency in the removal of Hg(II),with a maximum removal rate approaching 100%.Furthermore,the pH level of the water significantly influenced the adsorption efficiency of heavy metal ions,with the optimal removal performance observed at a pH of 6.0.The PRB system demonstrated excellent removal rates under low concentrations of heavy metals.However,as the concentration increased,the remediation efficiency exhibited a slight decrease.In summary,the findings of this study provide compelling evidence for the use of modified biochar in the construction of PRBs for the remediation of mercury and arsenic-polluted water bodies.Furthermore,the study reveals the mechanism by which pH and heavy metal concentration influence remediation efficiency.

Agent Blue Spraying in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War: Fate of the Arsenic Based Herbicide Weapon Used to Destroy Rice Crop and Mangrove Forests

Agent Blue, a mixture of cacodylic acid (CH3) As O2H) and sodium cacodylate (C2H6 AsNaO2), was a tactical arsenic-based herbicide used during the Vietnam War to destroy grasses and rice crops. Natural and synthetic sources of arsenic can degrade into water-soluble forms and persist in groundwater and potentially contribute to elevating As levels in drinking water. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) and United States Department of Agricultural (USDA) Operation Ranch Hand records for tactical herbicides including Agent Blue sprayed in southern Vietnam during the Vietnam War (1961-1971) are very detailed, rather complete and publicly available. The same is not true for tactical herbicides sprayed by the Republic of Vietnam (RV) during the Khai Quang program which was supported by the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Mekong Delta. Agent Blue was sprayed by the RV military for three years before the official start of the American-Vietnam War. Few, if any, RV military, US Army, US Navy and CIA spray records exist from 1962 to 1965. Vietnam War veterans, historians and scholars have reported the spraying of 3.2 million liters (468,008 kg As) of Agent Blue on rice paddies and mangrove forests in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands by the RV military with the support of the US Army, US Navy and CIA. The Institute of Medicine estimated that 3.2 million liters (468,000 kg As) were sprayed during the RV Khai Quang program. This was in addition to the U.S. Air Force’s Operation Ranch Hand spraying of the tactical herbicide Agent Blue primarily by C-123 aircraft. The Operation Ranch Hand missions maintained location and quantities of herbicides sprayed (over 4,712,000 liters (664,392 kg As) from 1961-1971. The RV military and US military (Army and Navy) spray equipment included hand and backpack sprayers, sprayers mounted on Brown Water Navy boats, on Army track vehicles and Army land-based helicopters and helicopters based on the decks of Blue Water Navy ships. Some of these spray missions were a military secret and spray records were classified or if kept were not maintained. Agent Blue containing cacodylic acid had a short half-life and degraded to water-soluble arsenic, which was released into the surface water and/or leached into the groundwater. Once the water-soluble arsenic leached into the Vietnam Mekong Delta groundwater, the arsenic-rich water was pumped back to the surface by tens of thousands of tube wells for urban and agricultural use. The primary objectives of this research are to explore the conditions during the Vietnam War under which 1) the RV military herbicide spray program with the support of the US Navy, CIA and US Army, and 2) the US Air Force spray program during Operation Ranch Hand may have significantly contributed to the natural and anthropic As spikes found in the Mekong Delta today. The environmental impacts of Agent Blue, on the Menominee River at manufacturing sites in the United States, were studied to identify possible As remediation and mitigation strategies. The lessons previously learned at the manufacturing sites in Wisconsin and Michigan, United States can be considered and applied to the Mekong Delta to help mitigate and remediate the arsenic-rich surface water, soil, sediment and groundwater found in the Mekong Delta.

New method for determination of arsenic content in tail gases during semiconductor processing

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Selenium Modulates Growth and Thiol Metabolism in Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i>L.) during Arsenic Stress

Arsenic affects plants by disrupting their growth and metabolism while selenium, an essential micronutrient has beneficial role in stress tolerance. Owing to the antioxidative capacity of selenium, it can counteract detrimental effects of arsenic induced stress in plants. The interactive influence of arsenate and selenate on the growth, arsenic and selenium accumulation, activities of non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants, levels of ascorbate, α-tocopherol, total glutathione and activities of glutathione regulatory enzymes along with characterization and quantification of phytochelatins in growing wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings were investigated. Rate of arsenic accumulation was increased in arsenate treated seedlings while in seedlings treated jointly with arsenate and selenate, arsenic accumulation decreased. Arsenate stress resulted decrease in ascorbate and total glutathione contents, activities of the glutathione metabolism enzymes while significantly increased the levels of α-tocopherol and phytochelatins (PC2 and PC4), along with activities of ascorbate peroxidase and ascorbic acid oxidase in the test seedlings. The effects were more pronounced in roots than in shoots. Joint application of arsenate along with selenate was able to overcome the adverse effects caused by arsenic alone to variable extents by exhibiting significant alterations of all parameters tested, imparting better growth and thiol metabolism in the test seedlings. Our results conclude that application of selenium fertilizer in arsenic contaminated soil might be favourable to improve growth and defense ability in wheat against arsenic toxicity.