Abstract
The prevalence of digestive disorders has increased globally, as countries have adopted a more “Westernized” diet pattern. A Western diet, characterized as high in fat and refined carbohydrates, can also be defined as a product of increased technology and industrialization. Modern farmers rely on agrochemicals to meet the needs of a growing population, and these chemicals have shifted the Western diet’s chemical composition. While the number of individuals choosing to live a wheat-free lifestyle without a celiac disease diagnosis has increased, clinical trials have shown that gluten from wheat is not responsible for causing symptoms in healthy individuals suggesting that something else is inducing symptoms. The herbicide, glyphosate, is applied to wheat crops before harvest to encourage ripening resulting in higher glyphosate residues in commercial wheat products within North America. Glyphosate inhibits the shikimate pathway, a pathway exclusive to plants and bacteria. Glyphosate’s effect on dysbiosis was not considered when making safety recommendations. Here, we evaluate the literature surrounding glyphosate’s effects on the gut microbiome and conclude that glyphosate residues on food could cause dysbiosis, given that opportunistic pathogens are more resistant to glyphosate compared to commensal bacteria. However, research on glyphosate’s effects on the microbiome suffers from numerous methodological weaknesses, and these limitations make it impossible to draw any definitive conclusions regarding glyphosate’s influence on health through alterations in the gut microbiome. In this review, we critically evaluate the evidence currently known and discuss recommendations for future studies.
Highlights
The prevalence of digestive disorders has increased globally, as countries have adopted a more “Westernized” diet pattern
In addition to increasing inflammation and oxidative stress, reduced butyrate levels influence intestinal motility (Walter, 2008), which has been associated with a host of digestive symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea and reflux (Martinucci et al, 2014). While these studies suggest that glyphosate alone may induce dysbiosis, in practice, crops are sprayed with glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH), which contain many additives in addition to glyphosate
The increased abundance of Erysipelotrichaceae has been implicated in the development of colon cancer (Kaakoush, 2015). These findings suggest that herbicide adjuvants may induce alterations to the gut microbiome and may have a synergistic effect when used in combination with glyphosate
Summary
Digestive disorders cost North Americans an estimated $154 billion annually in healthcare costs and lost productivity (Fedorak et al, 2012; Peery et al, 2019). Canada has the highest incidence of digestive diseases in the world, with two-thirds of Canadians suffering from a gastrointestinal condition within a given year (Fedorak et al, 2012) Some of these disorders are chronic inflammatory conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease and celiac disease. Doubleblind, randomized clinical trials have implicitly shown that gluten from wheat is not responsible for symptoms in non-celiac and otherwise healthy individuals (Croall et al, 2019) Is it possible that agricultural practices we have embraced in the past two decades are responsible for this dramatic increase in wheatsensitivity?. 36.6% of the grain-based products tested contained glyphosate residues, and 3.9% contained residues over the maximum limit currently set for cereal crops (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2017). To understand the possible implications of these findings and how glyphosate might influence human health, one must first understand its underlying mechanism of action
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