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Introduction: The chewing of Arecanut is a common habit amongst all sections of society in South East Asia. Arecanut and commercially available products like Gutka contain genotoxic components that result in damage to cells leading to oral cancer. The frequency of occurrence of micronuclei has been used as an important dosimeter for assessing the genotoxic effects of chemical mutagens.
Objectives: The objective of the study was to assess the genotoxic effects of arecanut and Gutka: and to quantify the number of micronuclei in buccal mucosa of arecanut and Gutka chewers.
Method: The study was conducted in Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Mangalore, India. The study consisted of 140 individuals which included 3 groups. Group I was the control group that included 70 healthy individuals. Group II (subject) were arecanut chewers and Group III (subject) were Gutka chewers, with 35 individuals in each group. In the present study, the micronucleus test was applied to all 140 individuals.
Results: Out of the two varieties of arecanut, 80% were red variety and the rest 20% were white variety of arecanut. The results of this study showed that there was a significant elevation in micronucleated cells from the exfoliated oral mucosal cells obtained from arecanut chewers and Gutka chewers over control samples.
Conclusion: The increase in the number of micronucleated cells observed in chewers reinforced the possible genotoxic damage in chewers.