Mills, P. J., Caussy, C., & Loomba, R.; “Glyphosate Excretion is Associated With Steatohepatitis and Advanced Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Fatty Liver Disease;” Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2019.03.045.

ABSTRACT:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the most common chronic liver disease in developed countries.(1) Patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are considered to be at a higher risk of fibrosis progression and development to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Among potential environmental contributors to the pathophysiology of NAFLD are exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Glyphosate, the primary weed-killing ingredient in Roundup (Monsanto, St Louis, MO), is sprayed on genetically modified crops and on many non–genetically modified grain crops and is found in these crops at harvest.

Rodents chronically fed with a low dosage of glyphosate exhibit signs of hepatotoxicity, liver congestion, necrosis, and DNA damage of the liver cells. This study examined excretion levels of glyphosate and its primary metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in a well-characterized and prospectively recruited cohort of patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD. FULL TEXT