Arsenic contamination of soil and water poses a serious threat to plants and animals. Plants and microorganisms are known to accumulate arsenic in their tissues and exhibit a certain degree of tolerance. However, at high concentrations, arsenic is toxic to nearly all forms of life.
Biotoxicity is mostly determined by the nature and bioavailability of arsenic species present in the contaminated habitat. At high concentrations, arsenic in plants inhibits plant metabolic processes, such as photosynthesis through interference of the pentose–phosphate pathway, there by inhibiting growth and often leading to death (Marques and Anderson, 1986; Tu and Ma, 2002).