The Global Glyphosate Study: experimental evidence on the most widely used herbicide worldwide

Introduction: The Ramazzini Institute, together with an international group of independent Institutes and Universities, has launched in 2017 a pilot study and in 2019 started the most comprehensive study (long-term integrated study) ever on glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs), world’s most used weedkiller. The study is named Global Glyphosate Study Materials and Methods: In the pilot study, pure glyphosate or Roundup Bioflow, were administered to SD rats in drinking water at 1.75 mg/kg bw/day to F0 dams starting from the gestational day (GD) 6 (in utero) up to postnatal day (PND) 120. In the long-term integrated study, animals were divided in ten study groups: control (drinking water), pure glyphosate (at 0.5, 5 and 50 mg/Kg/bw/day), Roundup Bioflow (0.5, 5 and 50 mg/Kg/bw/day glyphosate equivalent), and Ranger Pro (0.5, 5 and 50 mg/Kg/ bw/day glyphosate equivalent) Results: The full results of the pilot study on genotoxicity and pathology will be presented. The study first results of the long-term integrated phase will be presented and its multiple arms include: genotoxicity, prenatal-developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, multi-generational effects, endocrine disruption and microbiome effects, and, in the long term perspective, carcinogenicity, on SD rats Conclusions: Results on the Pilot Phase of Global Glyphosate Study showed adverse effects on reproduction-development, microbiome and genotoxocity at exposure levels that are currently considered safe and legally acceptable (US ADI 1,75mg/Kg/bw). The long-term effects and the possible endocrine disruptive effects of GBHs are one of the main focuses of the integrated study.