Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Department of Agricultural Chemistry, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh.
Formerly Department of Microbiology, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapuramu 515003, India.
Environ Pollut. 2020 Aug;263(Pt A):114372. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114372. Epub 2020 Mar 14.
Glyphosate, introduced by Monsanto Company under the commercial name Roundup in 1974, became the extensively used herbicide worldwide in the last few decades. Glyphosate has excellent properties of fast sorption in soil, biodegradation and less toxicity to nontarget organisms. However, glyphosate has been reported to increase the risk of cancer, endocrine-disruption, celiac disease, autism, effect on erythrocytes, leaky-gut syndrome, etc. The reclassification of glyphosate in 2015 as 'probably carcinogenic' under Group 2A by the International Agency for Research on Cancer has been broadly circulated by anti-chemical and environmental advocacy groups claiming for restricted use or ban of glyphosate. In contrast, some comprehensive epidemiological studies involving farmers with long-time exposure to glyphosate in USA and elsewhere coupled with available toxicological data showed no correlation with any kind of carcinogenic or genotoxic threat to humans. Moreover, several investigations confirmed that the surfactant, polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA), contained in the formulations of glyphosate like Roundup, is responsible for the established adverse impacts on human and ecological health. Subsequent to the evolution of genetically modified glyphosate-resistant crops and the extensive use of glyphosate over the last 45 years, about 38 weed species developed resistance to this herbicide. Consequently, its use in the recent years has been either restricted or banned in 20 countries. This critical review on glyphosate provides an overview of its behaviour, fate, detrimental impacts on ecological and human health, and the development of resistance in weeds and pathogens. Thus, the ultimate objective is to help the authorities and agencies concerned in resolving the existing controversies and in providing the necessary regulations for safer use of the herbicide. In our opinion, glyphosate can be judiciously used in agriculture with the inclusion of safer surfactants in commercial formulations sine POEA, which is toxic by itself is likely to increase the toxicity of glyphosate.
草甘膦由孟山都公司于 1974 年以“Roundup”的商品名推出，在过去几十年中已成为全球广泛使用的除草剂。草甘膦具有在土壤中快速吸附、生物降解和对非靶标生物毒性低等优良特性。然而，有报道称草甘膦会增加患癌症、内分泌紊乱、乳糜泻、自闭症、对红细胞的影响、肠漏综合征等的风险。国际癌症研究机构（IARC）在 2015 年将草甘膦重新分类为 2A 组“可能致癌”，这一消息被反化学和环境倡导团体广泛传播，要求限制或禁止使用草甘膦。相比之下，一些涉及美国和其他地方农民长期接触草甘膦的综合流行病学研究，以及现有的毒理学数据表明，草甘膦与人类的任何致癌或遗传毒性威胁都没有关联。此外，几项调查证实，草甘膦制剂（如 Roundup）中所含的表面活性剂聚氧化乙撑牛脂胺（POEA）是对人类和生态健康造成既定不利影响的原因。在经过 45 年的转基因抗草甘膦作物的发展和广泛使用之后，约有 38 种杂草对这种除草剂产生了抗性。因此，近年来，在 20 个国家限制或禁止了草甘膦的使用。本文对草甘膦进行了批判性的综述，概述了它的行为、命运、对生态和人类健康的有害影响，以及杂草和病原体产生抗性的情况。因此，最终目的是帮助有关当局和机构解决现有的争议，并为更安全地使用除草剂制定必要的规定。在我们看来，草甘膦可以在农业中合理使用，在商业制剂中加入更安全的表面活性剂，因为 POEA 本身就具有毒性，可能会增加草甘膦的毒性。
