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[SANET-MG] roundup is bad
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/GTARW.phpISIS Press Release 07/03/05
Glyphosate Toxic & Roundup Worse
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins call for urgent regulatory review
of the most widely used herbicide in the light of new scientific evidence
New research findings are raising serious concerns over the safety of
the most commonly used herbicide, and should be sending shockwaves
through proponents of genetically modified (GM) crops made tolerant to
the herbicide, which now account for 75% of all GM crops in the world.
Worse yet, the most common formulation of the herbicide is even more
toxic than the herbicide by itself, and is made by the same biotech
giant that created the herbicide tolerant GM crops.
Broad-spectrum herbicide glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine),
commonly sold in the commercial formulation Roundup (Monsanto company,
St. Louis, Missouri USA) has been frequently used both on crops and
non-crops areas world wide since it was introduced in the 1970s. Roundup
is a combination of glyphosate with other chemicals including a
surfactant (detergent) polyoxyethyleneamine that enhance the spreading
of the spray droplets on the leaves of plants. The use of Roundup has
gone up especially in countries growing Roundup-tolerant GM crops
created by Monsanto.
Glyphosate kills plants by inhibiting the enzyme,
5-enolpyruvoyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthetase (EPSPS), essential for
the formation of aromatic amino acids such as phenylalanine, tyrosine
and tryptophan; which leads onto vitamins and many secondary metabolites
such as folates, ubiquinones and naphthoquines. It is believed to be
rather specific in action and less toxic than other herbicides, because
the shikimate pathway is not present in mammals and humans. However,
glyphosate acts by preventing the binding of phosphoenol pyruvate to the
active site of the enzyme, and phosphoenol pyruvate is a core metabolite
present in all organisms; thus it has the potential to affect other
metabolic pathways. This is borne out by many reports of toxicities
associated with the herbicide reviewed in the Independent Science Panel
Report, The Case for a GM-free Sustainable World [1].
An epidemiological study in the Ontario farming populations showed that
glyphosate exposure nearly doubled the risk of late spontaneous
abortions [2], and Prof. Eric-Giles Seralini and his research team from
Caen University in France decided to find out more about the effects of
the herbicide on cells from the human placenta.
They have now shown that glyphosate is toxic to human placental cells,
killing a large proportion of them after 18 hr of exposure at
concentrations below that in agricultural use [3]. Moreover, Roundup is
always more toxic than its active ingredient, glyphosate; at least by
two-fold. The effect increased with time, and was obtained with
concentrations of Roundup 10 times lower than agricultural use.
The enzyme aromatase is responsible for making the female hormones
estrogens from androgens (the male hormones). Glyphosate interacts with
the active site of the enzyme but its effect on enzyme activity was
minimal unless Roundup was present.
Interestingly, Roundup increased enzyme activity after 1 h of
incubation, possibly because of its surfactant effect in making the
androgen substrate more available to the enzyme. But at 18h incubation,
Roundup invariably inhibited enzyme activity; the inhibition being
associated with a decrease in mRNA synthesis, suggesting that Roundup
decreased the rate of gene transcription. Seralini and colleagues
suggest that other ingredients in the Roundup formulation enhance the
availability or accumulation of glyphosate in cells.
There is, indeed, direct evidence that glyphosate inhibits RNA
transcription in animals at a concentration well below the level that is
recommended for commercial spray application Transcription was inhibited
and embryonic development delayed in sea urchins following exposure to
low levels of the herbicide and/or the surfactant polyoxyethyleneamine.
The pesticide should be considered a health concern by inhalation during
spraying [4].
New research shows that a brief exposure to commercial glyphosate caused
liver damage in rats, as indicated by the leakage of intracellular liver
enzymes. In this study, glyphosate and its surfactant in Roundup were
also found to act in synergy to increase damage to the liver [5].
Three recent case-control studies suggested an association between
glyphosate use and the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma [6-8]; while a
prospective cohort study in Iowa and North Carolina that includes more
than 54 315 private and commercial licensed pesticide applicators
suggested a link between glyphosate use and multiple myoeloma [9].
Myeloma has been associated with agents that cause either DNA damage or
immune suppression. These studies did not distinguish between Roundup
and glyphosate, and it would be important for that to be done.
There is now a wealth of evidence that glyphosate requires worldwide
health warnings and new regulatory review. Meanwhile, its use should be
reduced to a minimum as a matter of prudent precaution.
References
The Case for a GM-Free Sustainable World, Chapter 7, ISIS & TWN, London
& Penang, 2003.
Savitz DA, Arbuckle , Kaczor D, Curtis KM. Male pesticide exposure and
pregnancy outcome. Am J Epidemiol 2000, 146, 1025-36.
Richard S, Moslemi S, Sipahutar H, Benachour N and Seralini G-E.
Differential effects of glyphosate and Roundup on human placental cells
and aromatases
Marc J, Le Breton M, CormierP, Morales J, Belle´R and Mulner-Lorillo O.
A glyphosate-based pesticide impinges on transcription. Toxicology and
Applied Pharmacology 2005, 203, 1-8.
Benedetti AL, de Lourdes Vituri C, Trentin AG, Dominguesc MAC and
Alvarez-Silva M. The effects of sub-chronic exposure of Wistar rats to
the herbicide Glyphosate-Biocarb. Toxicology Letters 2004, 153, 227–32.
De Roos AH, Zahm SH, Cantor KP, et al. Integrative assessment of
multiple pesticides as risk factors for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among
men. Occup Environ Med 2003, 60, E11
http://oem.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/60/9/e11
Hardell L, Eriksson M, Nordstrom M. Exposure to pesticides as risk
factor for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and hairy cell leukemia: pooled
analysis of two Swedish case-control studies. Leuk Lymphoma 2002,
43,1043–1049.
McDuffie HH, Pahwa P, McLaughlin JR, Spinelli JJ, Fincham S, Dosman JA,
et al. 2001. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and specific pesticide exposures in
men: cross-Canada study of pesticides and health. 2001, Cancer Epidemiol
Biomarkers Prev 2001,10,1155–63.
De Roos AJ, Blair A, Rusiecki JA, Hoppin JA, Svec M, Dosemeci M, Sandler
DP and Alavanja MC. Cancer incidence among glyphosate-exposed pesticide
applicators in the agricultural health study. Environ Health Perspect
2005, 113, 49-54.
The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 32097, London NW1 OXR
telephone: [44 20 8452 2729] [44 20 7272 5636]
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press-release@i-sis.org.uk - ISIS Director m.w.ho@i-sis.org.uk
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