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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.005.779  |
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| Formula | C9H10Cl2N2O2 |
| Molar mass | 249.09 g·mol−1 |
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Linuron (3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea) is a phenylurea herbicide [1] that is used to control the growth of grass and weeds for the purpose of supporting the growth of crops like soybeans. [2] [3]
Linuron acts via inhibition of photosystem II, which is necessary for photosynthetic electron transport in plants. [2] [3]
Linuron has been found to produce reproductive toxicity in animals by acting as an androgen receptor (AR) antagonist, and for this reason, is considered to be an endocrine disruptor. [2] [4] Consequently, in January 2017, the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (SCoPAFF) of the European Commission DG "Health and food safety" decided to not renew its regulatory approval. [5] Sales are expected to cease by June 2017. [5]
Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose, and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with the trade names NutraSweet, Equal, and Canderel. Aspartame was first made in 1965 and approved for use in food products by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981.
In toxicology, the median lethal dose, LD50 (abbreviation for "lethal dose, 50%"), LC50 (lethal concentration, 50%) or LCt50 is a measure of the lethal dose of a toxin, radiation, or pathogen. The value of LD50 for a substance is the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration. LD50 figures are frequently used as a general indicator of a substance's acute toxicity. A lower LD50 is indicative of increased toxicity.
A toxin is a harmful substance produced within living cells or organisms; synthetic toxicants created by artificial processes are thus excluded. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919), derived from the word toxic.
Pantothenic acid, also called vitamin B5 is a water-soluble B vitamin and therefore an essential nutrient. All animals require pantothenic acid in order to synthesize coenzyme A (CoA) – essential for fatty acid metabolism – as well as to, in general, synthesize and metabolize proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
Vitamin B6 is one of the B vitamins, and thus an essential nutrient. The term refers to a group of six chemically similar compounds, i.e., "vitamers", which can be interconverted in biological systems. Its active form, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, serves as a coenzyme in more than 140 enzyme reactions in amino acid, glucose, and lipid metabolism.
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase. It is used to kill weeds, especially annual broadleaf weeds and grasses that compete with crops. Its herbicidal effectiveness was discovered by Monsanto chemist John E. Franz in 1970. Monsanto brought it to market for agricultural use in 1974 under the trade name Roundup. Monsanto's last commercially relevant United States patent expired in 2000.
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes from Greek φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'. Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons and others as traditional medicine.
Abamectin is a widely used insecticide and anthelmintic. Abamectin, is a member of the Avermectin family and is a natural fermentation product of soil dwelling actinomycete Streptomyces avermitilis. Abamectin, differs from Ivermectin, the popular member of the Avermectin family, by double bond on C-22-25. Fermentation of Streptomyces avermitilis yields 8 closely related Avermectin homologues out of which B1 forms the bulk of the fermentation. The non proprietary name, abamectin, is a combination of Bla and B1b. Out of all the Avermectins, abamectin is the only one that is used both in agriculture and pharmaceuticals.
Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of quercetin. Quercetin has a bitter flavor and is used as an ingredient in dietary supplements, beverages, and foods.
Isoflavones are substituted derivatives of isoflavone, a type of naturally occurring isoflavonoids, many of which act as phytoestrogens in mammals. Isoflavones are produced almost exclusively by the members of the bean family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae).
Erythrosine, also known as Red No. 3, is an organoiodine compound, specifically a derivative of fluorone. It is a pink dye which is primarily used for food coloring. It is the disodium salt of 2,4,5,7-tetraiodofluorescein. Its maximum absorbance is at 530 nm in an aqueous solution, and it is subject to photodegradation.
Phytogenics are a group of natural growth promoters or non-antibiotic growth promoters used as feed additives, derived from herbs, spices or other plants. The term phytogenic feed additives was coined by an Austrian multinational feed additives company named Delacon, and was first introduced to the market in the 1980s.
The artificial sweetener aspartame has been the subject of several controversies since its initial approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974. The FDA approval of aspartame was highly contested, beginning with suspicions of its involvement in brain cancer, alleging that the quality of the initial research supporting its safety was inadequate and flawed, and that conflicts of interest marred the 1981 approval of aspartame, previously evaluated by two FDA panels that concluded to keep the approval on hold before further investigation. In 1987, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that the food additive approval process had been followed properly for aspartame. The irregularities fueled a conspiracy theory, which the "Nancy Markle" email hoax circulated, along with claims—counter to the weight of medical evidence—that numerous health conditions are caused by the consumption of aspartame in normal doses.
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is the ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid, and is a type of catechin.
Selenium yeast, produced by fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a selenium-rich media, is a recognized source of organic food-form selenium. In this process, virtually all of the selenium structurally substitutes for sulfur in the amino acid methionine thus forming selenomethionine via the same pathways and enzymes that are used to form sulfur-containing methionine. Owing to its similarity to S-containing methionine, selenomethionine is taken up nonspecifically and becomes part of yeast protein. It is this metabolic route that makes selenium yeast valuable in animal and human nutrition, since it offers the same organic form of selenium produced by food-chain autotrophs.
The Séralini affair was the controversy surrounding the publication, retraction, and republication of a journal article by French molecular biologist Gilles-Éric Séralini. First published by Food and Chemical Toxicology in September 2012, the article presented a two-year feeding study in rats, and reported an increase in tumors among rats fed genetically modified corn and the herbicide RoundUp. Scientists and regulatory agencies subsequently concluded that the study's design was flawed and its findings unsubstantiated. A chief criticism was that each part of the study had too few rats to obtain statistically useful data, particularly because the strain of rat used, Sprague Dawley, develops tumors at a high rate over its lifetime.
Gilles-Éric Séralini is a French molecular biologist, political advisor and activist on genetically modified organisms and foods. He is of Algerian-French origin. Séralini has been a professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen since 1991, and is president and chairman of the board of CRIIGEN.
A pesticide, also called Plant Protection Product (PPP), which is a term used in regulatory documents, consists of several different components. The active ingredient in a pesticide is called “active substance” and these active substances either consist of chemicals or micro-organisms. The aims of these active substances are to specifically take action against organisms that are harmful to plants. In other words, active substances are the active components against pests and plant diseases.
Threshold dose is the minimum dose of drug that triggers minimal detectable biological effect in an animal. At extremely low doses, biological responses are absent for some of the drugs. The increase in dose above threshold dose induces an increase in the percentage of biological responses. Several benchmarks have been established to describe the effects of a particular dose of drug in a particular species, such as NOEL(no-observed-effect-level), NOAEL(no-observed-adverse-effect-level) and LOAEL(lowest-observed-adverse-effect-level). They are established by reviewing the available studies and animal studies. The application of threshold dose in risk assessment safeguards the participants in human clinical trials and evaluates the risks of chronic exposure to certain substances. However, the nature of animal studies also limits the applicability of experimental results in the human population and its significance in evaluating potential risk of certain substances. In toxicology, there are some other safety factors including LD50, LC50 and EC50.
Aclonifen is a diphenyl ether herbicide which has been used in agriculture since the 1980s. Its mode of action has been uncertain, with evidence suggesting it might interfere with carotenoid biosynthesis or inhibit the enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO). Both mechanisms could result in the observed whole-plant effect of bleaching and the compound includes chemical features that are known to result in PPO effects, as seen with acifluorfen, for example. In 2020, further research revealed that aclonifen has a different and novel mode of action, targeting solanesyl diphosphate synthase which would also cause bleaching.