Human exposure to metals/metalloids such as uranium, lead,
arsenic (As) and cadmium in both occupational and environmental
settings is a common occurrence. Arsenic is a metalloid found in
water, soil and air from natural and anthropogenic sources and exists
in inorganic as well as organic forms (Flora et al., 2009). The
major inorganic forms of arsenic include trivalent arsenite (AsIII)
and pentavalent arsenate (AsV). Arsenic typically arsenate enters
the body mainly via consumption of contaminated drinking water
(Shi et al., 2004). Prolonged ingestion of water contaminated with
arsenic result in the manifestations of toxicity in practically all systems
of the body (Mandal and Suzuki, 2002).