Impacts of dietary exposure to pesticides on faecal microbiome metabolism in adult twins

Abstract

Concerns have been raised as to whether the consumption of foodstuffs contaminated with pesticides can contribute to the development of chronic human diseases by affecting microbial community function in the gut. We provide the first associations between urinary pesticide excretion and the composition and function of the faecal microbiome in 65 twin pairs in the UK. Biomonitoring of exposure to 186 common insecticide, herbicide, or fungicide residues showed the presence of pyrethroid and/or organophosphorus insecticide residues in all urine samples, while the herbicide glyphosate was found in 45% of individuals. Other pesticides such as DEET, imidacloprid or dithiocarbamate fungicides were less frequently detected. While the geographic location or the rural/urban environment had no influence on pesticide urinary excretion, food frequency questionnaires showed that DMTP levels, a metabolite of organophosphates, was higher with increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. Multivariable association between urinary pesticide excretion and faecal microbial composition and function were determined with shotgun metagenomics and metabolomics. A total of 34 associations between pesticide residues concentrations and faecal metabolite concentrations were detected. Glyphosate excretion was positively associated to an increased bacterial species richness, as well as to fatty acid metabolites and phosphate levels. The insecticide metabolite Br2CA, reflecting deltamethrin exposure, was positively associated with the mammalian phytoestrogens enterodiol and enterolactone, and negatively associated with some N-methyl amino acids. Urine metabolomics performed on a subset of samples did not reveal associations with the excretion of pesticide residues. Our results highlight the need for future interventional studies to understand effects of pesticide exposure on the gut microbiome and possible health consequences.

The toxicity of Annona squamosa seeds and Anacardium occidentale seed shells from East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, against cabbage caterpillar (Crocidolomia pavonana)

“…For example, it posed serious health risks to humans, damaged biodiversity and the environment, increased bioaccumulation of pesticide residues in the food chain, killed pollinators, polluted water and air, influenced changes in the microbiome to reduce mammalian resistance to pathogens, and the emergence of resistant insect (Mahmood et al 2016;Tarar 2019;Syromyatnikov et al 2020;Kalyabina et al 2021;Riyaz et al 2022). Mesnage et al (2021) found 186 pesticide residues from the pyrethroid and organophosphate groups in human urine samples. According to World Health Organization (WHO), every year, there are three million cases of poisoning by synthetic pesticides, which cause the death of about 220,000 people (Mughal 2018).…”