Source and Effects of Glyphosate Pollution on Public Health: A Review

Abstract

Glyphosate is the most popular herbicide because it can be used to control various weeds as well
as enhancing the yield of commercial crops. Nonetheless, the use of glyphosate has increased to
agricultural and non-agricultural uses, which resulted in the increase in geo- and biospheric
contamination and human exposure issues. This review analyzes the persistence of glyphosate in
the environment, including soil and water ecosystems, as well as in the food chain, and evaluates
its exposure by multiple pathways. Active glyphosate and its primary degradation product,
aminomethylphosphonic acid, are among the most frequently detected herbicide metabolites in
human and environmental exposure matrices, corroborating the evidence for human and
environmental exposure. Glyphosate exerts varied and potentially overlapping toxic effects,
including oxidative and other metabolic disruptions, geno- and biotrophic dysregulation, and
degradation of the microbiome. Glyphosate-induced disruptions ecologically include reductions in
soil and water microbial communities, invertebrate and vertebrate organisms, and overall
biodiversity. Modern ecological theories are challenged by the disruption’s glyphosate is known
to cause. Numerous toxicological and ecological hypotheses contend for dominance explaining
glyphosate-induced disruptions of natural ecosystems. However, the cumulative, low-dose effects
of glyphosate, as well as the effects of its co-formulants in glyphosate-containing herbicide
preparations, are some of the gaps in the literature. Evidence-based global glyphosate regulation,
coordinated monitoring, harmonized control measures, and collaborative cross-national research
are urgently needed to address these issues. This review strives to reinforce the need for
coordinated international monitoring and the enforcement of glyphosate use regulations for the
protection of human health and biodiversity.