Arsenic (As), a non-essential metalloid in the environment and severely toxic to all the living organisms exist mainly in two inorganic forms arsenate and arsenite. Availability of it in the soil, above the permissible limit, results deleterious impacts on growth and metabolism of most of the plants chiefly via slowing down the cell division and elongation, accumulation of biomass, increased formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alteration in antioxidant defense system. Therefore, to investigate the deleterious impacts of As exposure and its effective amelioration applying aspirin and tiron, seeds of Glycine max L. were subjected to 0, 10 and 100 µM As (sodium arsenite was used as a source of it) and/ or in combination with aspirin (0.1 mM) and tiron (10 mM) separately, for five consecutive days, and were then analyzed. Generated data revealed that increased concentration of As significantly inhibited seed germination, radicle length and biomass (both fresh and dry mass) accumulation, while enhanced the content of reactive oxygen species in five days old Glycine max L. seedlings. However, exogenous addition of both aspirin or tiron significantly augmented As stress tolerance in the five days old Glycine max L. radicles thereby resulting in enhanced germination percentage, radicle length and biomass accrual along with reduced accumulation of ROS. In conclusion, aspirin and tiron application, more particularly aspirin, were observed to confer tolerance, in different magnitudes, against Asinduced oxidative stress by limiting ROS production in Glycine max L.
