Abstract
Objectives: To study the effects of glyphosate based herbicide formulation Roundup® and paraquat based herbicide formulation Gramoxone® on the structure and function of the thyroid gland. Methods: Two groups of male rats were orally treated with a dosage of Roundup® (250 mg/kg) and Gramoxone® (5 mg/kg) respectively, from the 29th day of their age to 89th day. Control animals were administered with distilled water. At the end of the experimental period, blood samples and thyroid lobes were collected for estimation of thyroid hormones and histopathological changes, respectively. The function of the thyroid gland was evaluated by estimating thyroid hormones (thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine) level, and the structure of the thyroid gland was assessed by observing histopathological changes. The treated group’s results were compared with the control group. Findings: Non-significant increase in thyroid stimulating hormone and a significant decrease in thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels, as well as moderate desquamation of cells into the follicular lumen and cellular infiltration in thyroid structure were observed. Results of this study provide evidence on histopathological changes in the thyroid gland along with the decrease in thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels on exposure to Roundup® and Gramoxone®. Roundup® is less thyrotoxic compared to Gramoxone®. Applications: Ignoring the guidelines of the Insecticide Boards and manufacturer’s instructions, Roundup® and Gramoxone® formulations are indiscriminately used for immediate weed killing. The human population is exposed to constituents of herbicide formulations through the air, water, and food. In this context, the result of the present study suggests that exposure to Roundup® and Gramoxone® formulations can be a risk to thyroid damage. Keywords: Herbicide; Roundup®; Gramoxone®; Thyroid Hormones; Histopathology; thyrotoxic
Highlights
Geographical region and iodine supplements are the main reasons for increasing thyroid diseases in the population [1,2]
In the present study, male rats were orally treated with Glyphosate-based herbicide formulation (GBHF) Roundup® and Paraquat-based herbicide formulations (PBHF) Gramoxone® to assess the effects of these two formulations on histology of the thyroid gland along with levels of T4, T3, and TSH
Data from the present study showed that exposure to Roundup® and Gramoxone® formulations severely affects the levels of T4 and T3 along with moderate changes in the structure of the thyroid gland
Summary
Geographical region and iodine supplements are the main reasons for increasing thyroid diseases in the population [1,2]. Easy availability of herbicide formulations and their economic inexpensiveness compared to manual weeding [9,10,11,12] makes the use of formulations highly popular. This releases many chemicals of the formulation in the environment. In recent years the concern about the endocrine and reproductive toxicity of the chemicals of herbicide formulations has increased [13,14]. The toxicity of herbicide formulations on the thyroid is controversial because of little data
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