Exposure to glyphosate and its mixture with dicamba and 2,4-d from gestational day 6 until weaning in rat dams reveals signs of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

The growing usage of glyphosate, dicamba, and 2,4-D herbicide mixtures to combat glyphosate-resistant weeds raises concerns about human health and environmental consequences. The purpose of this study was to see how developmental exposure to glyphosate and a herbicide mixture combining glyphosate, dicamba, and 2,4-D affected rat dams' liver structure and function. A mixture of glyphosate, dicamba, and 2,4-D each at their European Union acceptable daily intake (ADI) (0.5, 0.002, and 0.3 mg/kg bw/day, respectively) and glyphosate at the ADI and NOAEL levels (0.5 and 50 mg/kg bw/day), were administered to pregnant Wistar rats from day-6 of gestation until weaning. The dams were sacrificed after weaning, and blood and liver tissue collected. In dams, glyphosate exposure resulted in the induction of non-alcoholic liver disease in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, exposure to the herbicide mixture resulted in effects similar to those observed with glyphosate at the NOAEL dose, suggesting at least an additive effect of the herbicide mixture at regulatory doses considered individually safe for humans.