Glyphosate: Encyclopedia II - Glyphosate - Health concerns

Glyphosate - Health concerns

There are concerns about the effects of glyphosate (and Roundup) on non-plant species. For more information, see the Roundup article.

Glyphosate - Endocrine disruptor debate

In-vitro studies (Walsh, et al 2000) have shown glyphosate to have an effect on progesterone production in mammilian cells and can affect mortality of placental cells in-vitro (Richard, et al 2005). Whether these studies classify glyphosate as an endocrine disruptor is a matter of debate.

Some feel that in-vitro studies are insufficient, and are waiting to see if animal studies show a change in endocrine activity, since a change in a single cell line may not occur in an entire organism. Additionally, current in-vitro studies expose cell lines to concentrations orders of magnitude greater than would be found in real conditions, and through pathways that would not be experienced in real organism. Current toxicological studies of higher order mammals (EU 2002) have suggested no endocrine disruption even at high doses.

Others feel that in-vitro studies, particularly ones identifying not only an affect, but a chemical pathway, are sufficient evidence to classify glyphosate as an endocrine disruptor, on the basis that even small changes in endocrine activity can have lasting affects on an entire organism that may be difficult to detect through whole organism studies alone. Further research on the topic has been planned, and should shed more light on the debate.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Health concerns", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki