Exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide during pregnancy and lactation induces neurobehavioral alterations in rat offspring

GALLEGOS C.E.; GUMILAR F.; BRAS C.; MINETTI A.; BARTOS M.; ANTONELLI M.C.

NEUROTOXICOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 53 p. 20 - 28

0161-813X

The impact of sub-lethal doses ofherbicides on human health and the environment is a matter of controversy. Dueto the fact that evidence particularly of the effects of glyphosate on thecentral nervous system of rat offspring by inutero exposure is scarce, the purpose of the present study was to assessthe neurobehavioral effects of chronic exposure to a glyphosate-containingherbicide during pregnancy and lactation. To this end, pregnant Wistar rats were exposed through drinking water to 0.2% or 0.4% of a commercial formulation of glyphosate (corresponding to a concentration of0.65 or 1.30 g/L of glyphosate, respectively) during pregnancy and lactation andneurobehavioral alterations in offspring were analyzed. The postnatal day onwhich each pup acquired neonatal reflexes (righting, cliff aversion andnegative geotaxis) and that on which eyes and auditory canals were fully openedwere recorded for the assessment of sensorimotor development. Locomotoractivity and anxiety levels were monitored via open field test and plus mazetest, respectively, in 45- and 90-day-old offspring. Pups exposed to a glyphosate-basedherbicide showed early onset of cliff aversion reflex and early auditory canalopening. A decrease in locomotor activity and in anxiety levels was alsoobserved in the groups exposed to a glyphosate-containing herbicide. Findingsfrom the present study reveal that early exposure to a glyphosate-basedherbicide affects the central nervous system in rat offspring probably byaltering mechanisms or neurotransmittersystems that regulate locomotor activity and anxiety.