Study Links Monsanto's Roundup Herbicide to Hormone Disruption & Fetal Damage

Posted 3/1/05

PRESS RELEASE

Pr. Gilles-Eric SERALINI's group in the University of Caen (Normandy,
France) just published original results concerning the toxicity of
Roundup. Il is one of the most used herbicides worldwide and the most
used with genetically modified plants (GMOs).

The majority of GMOs commercialized in the world are designed for food
and feed. These plants have been modified to remain alive after
herbicide absorption, this herbicide being spread on the cultures.
This greatly facilitates its use, as well as the presence of its
residues in the food chain. It is also evoked as a common pollutant in
rivers.

It is shown in this work that human placental cells are very sensitive
to Roundup, to concentrations lower than the agricultural use. This
could explain miscarriages and premature births in the United States in
farmers. Moreover, below toxic levels, the effects of Roundup are
measured on the synthesis of sexual hormones; this allow to classify
this herbicide in potential endocrine disruptors. Finally, the effects
of Roundup are always greater than those of glyphosate, which is known
as its active compound.

This work was supported in particular by CRIIGEN (www.crii-gen.org
<http://www.crii-gen.org/) and by The "Fondation pour une Terre Humaine"

Contact : Pr. Gilles-Eric SERALINI, tel. 33 2 31 56 54 89,
criigen@ibfa.unicaen.fr

Environmental health perspective
Differential effects of glyphosate and Roundup
on human placental cells and aromatase
Sophie Richard, Safa Moslemi, Herbert Sipahutar, Nora
Benachour, Gilles-Eric Seralini
doi:10.1289/ehp.7728 (available at http://dx.doi.org/)
Online 24 February 2005

Abstract Roundup is a glyphosate-based herbicide used worldwide including on most
genetically modified plants in which it can be tolerated. Its residues may thus enter the
food chain and glyphosate is found as a contaminant in rivers. Some agricultural workers using
glyphosate have pregnancy problems, but its mechanism of action in mammals is questioned. Here we
show that glyphosate is toxic on human placental JEG3 cells within 18 hr with concentrations
lower than the agricultural use, and this effect increases with concentration and time,
or in the presence of Roundup adjuvants. Surprisingly, Roundup is always more toxic than its
active ingredient. We tested its effect on aromatase with lower non-toxic concentrations, the
enzyme responsible for estrogen synthesis. The herbicide acts as an endocrine disruptor on
aromatase activity and mRNA levels, and glyphosate interacts within the active site of the purified
enzyme, but its effect is facilitated by Roundup formulation in microsomes or in cell culture. We
conclude that endocrine and toxic effects of Roundup and not only glyphosate can be observed in
mammals. We suggest that the presence of Roundup adjuvants enhances glyphosate
bioavailability and / or
bioaccumulation.

****************************************************************************

This GMO news service is underwritten by a generous grant from the Newman's
Own Foundation, edited by Thomas Wittman and is a production of the
Ecological Farming Association www.eco-farm.org <http://www.eco-farm.org/
****************************************************************************