Glyphosate vs. Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Exposure: A Review on Their Toxicity

Abstract

Glyphosate-based herbicide has been the first choice for weed management worldwide since the 1970s, mainly due to its efficacy and reported low toxicity, which contributed to its high acceptance. Many of the recent studies focus solely on the persistence of pesticides in soils, air, water or food products, or even on the degree of exposure of animals, since their potential hazards to human health have raised concerns. Given the unaware exposure of the general population to pesticides, and the absence of a significant number of studies on occupational hazards, new glyphosate-induced toxicity data obtained for both residual and acute doses should be analyzed and systematized. Additionally, recent studies also highlight the persistence and toxicity of both glyphosate metabolites and surfactants present in herbicide formulations. To renew or ban the use of glyphosate, recently published studies must be taken into account, aiming to define new levels of safety for exposure to herbicide, its metabolites, and the toxic excipients of its formulations. This review aims to provide an overview of recent publications (2010–present) on in vitro and in vivo studies aimed at verifying the animal toxicity induced by glyphosate, its metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and glyphosate-based formulations, evaluated in various experimental models. Apart from glyphosate-induced toxicity, recent data concerning the role of surfactants in the toxicity of glyphosate-based formulations are discussed.

In Vitro Assessment of Pesticides Toxicity and Data Correlation with Pesticides Physicochemical Properties for Prediction of Toxicity in Gastrointestinal and Skin Contact Exposure

“…It is commonly accepted that they play an important role in the development of agriculture by reducing the loss of products while improving the yield and food quality [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. The term “pesticides” comprises a vast number of compounds, such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, molluscicides, nematicides, rodenticides, plant growth regulators and others, according to the pest target [ 2 , 5 ]; for example, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides are used worldwide to kill weeds, or unwanted plants, insects and fungi, respectively [ 1 , 5 , 6 ]. Undoubtedly, the use of pesticides has brought great benefits both in increasing the availability and quality of food and in supporting public health in general [ 7 ].…”

“…It is also documented that the presence of pesticides in food products which is deemed to be in trace quantities represents low toxicity risk to consumers; however, the same might not be true to occupational populations that are exposed to high doses while mixing or applying the pesticides [ 2 , 8 , 9 ]. Thus, the main routes of exposure to pesticides are through skin and respiratory contact, mainly for the occupational population, and through the gastrointestinal tract (oral route), mainly for consumers [ 1 , 8 ], resulting in several adverse conditions, depending on the dose and exposure time, including cancer, neurotoxicity, pulmonotoxicity, endocrine disruption, metabolic toxicity and others [ 8 ]. Assessment of risk toxicity is not an easy issue, due to many factors, such as type of pesticide, exposure route, concentration of pesticide and duration of exposure.…”

“…Assessment of risk toxicity is not an easy issue, due to many factors, such as type of pesticide, exposure route, concentration of pesticide and duration of exposure. When using pesticide formulations the toxicity of the other formulation ingredients must also be considered, as pointed out by many authors [ 1 , 8 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…EPSPS catalyses the transference of the enolpyruvyl group from phosphoenolpyruvate to shikimate-3-phosphate. Thus, GLY inhibits the biosynthesis of chorismate from shikimate, in a metabolic pathway deeply involved in the biosynthesis of essential metabolites, such as amino acids (e.g., phenylalanine, tyrosine or tryptophan) [ 1 , 12 , 13 ]. IMD is a neonicotinoid insecticide selective for the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) that exhibits higher affinity for insect nAChR than for vertebrate nAChR [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Perspectives on Converting Keratin-Containing Wastes Into Biofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture

“…The high efficiency of food products results in loss of nutrients in the soil, which in turn will affect the yields of the crops in the future. The application of fertilizers and other chemicals such as pesticides will contaminate soil and groundwater, giving rise to threats to the environment (Humbert et al, 2016 ; Vejan et al, 2021 ; Martins-Gomes et al, 2022 ). Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the environmental pressure and recover the soil nutrient using suitable strategies (Zhuang et al, 2019 ; Tan et al, 2022 ).…”