What We’re Reading: Glyphosate, Nematodes and The Nervous System

The body of evidence showing glyphosate’s potential negative effects on human health continues to grow.

Two recent scientific studies show the chemical—the main active ingredient in herbicides used widely in New Brunswick—infiltrates the human brain and can affect an animal’s nervous system, respectively.

One study, published this summer in Journal of Neuroinflammation, shows that glyphosate “infiltrates the brain and increases inflammatory cytokine TNFα.”

The authors write, “these results illustrate that glyphosate exposure infiltrates the brain, and subsequent elevations of TNFα may have implications for neurodegenerative disorders such as AD [Alzheimer’s Disease].”

Previous studies found that glyphosate was associated with changes in “brain-related functions” but didn’t show that glyphosate could cross the blood-brain barrier.

Read the study here.

ICYMI: Glyphosate Spraying Up 30% On Crown Forest Since 2005

The other paper we’re reviewing was published in August in Scientific Reports. It found that glyphosate and Roundup (the most common glyphosate-based herbicide) increased “seizure-like behaviour” in nematodes.

Nematodes, in case you’re wondering, also known as roundworms, are among the most abundant animals on Earth. Many of them are just visible to the naked eye, while others can only be seen with a magnifying glass or microscope. They’re free-living forms found in soil, freshwater and marine environments, among other places.

In short, scientists exposed a group of nematodes to glyphosate and then used an electroshock to prompt convulsions. Another group of nemotodes was not exposed to glyphosate before the electroshock.

They found that the glyphosate-exposed nematodes’ convulsions lasted at least 66 per cent longer than those not exposed to the chemical.

“We also discovered over a third of nematodes exposed to Roundup did not recover from their convulsions, but [antiepileptic] drug treatment resulted in full recovery,” the authors write.

“Notably, these effects were found at concentrations that are 1,000-fold dilutions of previous findings of neurotoxicity, using over 300-fold less herbicide than the lowest concentration recommended for consumer use.”

Read the full study here.

You’ll recall that in the summer of 2021 our Executive Director, Lois Corbett, presented to the standing committee examining glyphosate’s use in New Brunswick’s woods.

In her presentation, Corbett cited several other recent studies demonstrating glyphosate’s negative effects on plants, animals and people. She told committee members to recommend a ban on glyphosate spraying in Crown forests and called for an updated Crown Lands and Forests Act based on ecological forestry.

Learn more about the Conservation Council’s work to stop the spraying in our woods here.