State-of-the-art molecular profiling analyses has shown that Monsanto’s weedkiller Roundup causes liver damage at doses allowed by regulators.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
A new peer-reviewed study shows Roundup causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at doses permitted by regulators worldwide. The study is the first to demonstrate a causative link between Roundup consumption at a real-world environmentally relevant dose and a serious disease.
Dr. Michael Antoniou, King’s College London
Led by Dr. Michael Antoniou at King’s College London, the study used cutting-edge profiling methods to describe the molecular composition of female rats’ livers after the rats were fed an extremely low dose of Roundup weedkiller for more than two years. The glyphosate dose from the Roundup given rats was thousands of times below the level permitted by regulators all over the world. Animals in the study suffered from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Roundup and Liver Disease Causative Link
Dr. Antoniou said: “The findings of our study are very worrying as they demonstrate for the first time a causative link between an environmentally relevant level of Roundup consumption over the long-term and a serious disease – namely non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. (Our) results suggest regulators should reconsider the safety evaluation of glyphosate-based herbicides.”
Potentially Serious Implications for Humans
The new results demonstrated that long-term consumption of an extremely low dose of Roundup at a daily glyphosate intake of only four (4) nanograms per kilogram of bodyweight per day – 75,000 times below EU and 437,500 below US permitted levels – resulted in NAFLD.
Rat Studies Mirror Human Reactions
Regulators worldwide accept that toxicity studies in rats fairly indicate human health risks. This study consequently raises alarms for humans exposed to even tiny doses of glyphosate.
25% U.S. Affected by Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
NAFLD already affects 25% of the US population. Risk factors include being overweight or obese, having diabetes, high cholesterol, or high triglycerides (a constituent of body fat) in the blood. Some people, however, develop NAFLD even without any of these known risk factors, which raises the question of whether Roundup exposure is an unrecognized risk factor.
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Symptoms
Symptoms of NAFLD include fatigue, weakness, weight loss, appetite loss, nausea, abdominal pain, spider-like blood vessels, yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), itching, fluid build-up, swelling of legs and abdomen, mental confusion.
NAFLD can progress to the more serious condition of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which causes liver swelling to the point of damage. Most with NASH are 40 – 60, and it is more common in women than men. NASH is one of the leading causes of cirrhosis in U.S. adults, and some 25% of adults with NASH may have cirrhosis.
Study Background
Rat body tissues used in the Antoniou study were obtained from a previous study led by Prof Gilles-Eric Séralini of the University of Caen, France. In Prof. Séralini’s original investigation, rats were given drinking water containing an extremely low, environmentally relevant dose of a commercial Roundup formulation at 0.1ppb (parts per billion)/50ppt (parts per trillion) glyphosate for two years Daily intake of glyphosate from the Roundup was four (4) nanograms per kilogram of body weight per day, thousands of times less than levels regulators permit.
Analysis of the organs and blood/urine biochemical levels in the original study by Prof Séralini suggested a higher incidence of liver and kidney damage in the animals given Roundup compared to controls given plain drinking water.
Dr. Antoniou’s group has conducted distinct follow-up investigations on the rat body tissues from this ultra-low-dose Roundup treatment group, using in-depth molecular analytical procedures and statistical analytical methods calibrated to fit this type of research.
Atranscriptomics (gene function profile) performed on the livers and kidneys from the female animals strongly supported the observations made at an anatomical (organ) and blood/urine biochemical level in the Séralini study, namely that the Roundup-fed animals’ organs suffered more structural and functional damage than the control animals given plain water.
Roundup-fed Animals Transcriptomics Results Showed Increased Incidence in:
• fibrosis (scarring)
• necrosis (areas of dead tissue)
• phospholipidosis (disturbed fat metabolism)
• damage to mitochondria (the centers of respiration in cells)
Transcriptomics analysis can predict organ health or disease status, but does not provide definitive proof of harm. It does not give a direct biochemistry measure of the organ studied. Alterations in gene function resulting from a test do not always result in physical composition changes that could lead to disease.
Roundup has already been found to raise the risk of leukemia and other cancers.
RELATED
- Roundup causes NAFLD at very low doses
- Roundup Cancer Lawsuit
- Monsanto Lawsuit
- Roundup more Toxic than Glyphosate
by Matthews & Associates
