The herbicide glyphosate is a weak inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase in rats
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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Measuring Rates of Herbicide Metabolism in Dicot Weeds with an Excised Leaf Assay
Published on: September 7, 2015
Karen E Larsen1, Adrián L Lifschitz2, Carlos E Lanusse2
1Laboratorio de Biología y Ecotoxicología, FCV-UNCPBA, Tandil 7000, Argentina; Laboratorio de Farmacología, CIVETAN-CONICET, FCV-UNCPBA, Tandil 7000, Argentina.
Abstract:
The current work evaluated the inhibitory potency of the herbicide glyphosate (GLP) on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in male and female rat tissues. The AChE activity in brain was higher (p<0.05) than those observed in kidney (females: 2.2-fold; males: 1.9-fold), liver (females: 6-fold; males: 6.9-fold) and plasma (females: 14.7-fold; males: 25.3-fold). Enzyme activities were higher in presence of 10mM GLP compared to those measured at an equimolar concentration of the potent AChE inhibitor dichlorvos (DDVP). Moreover, IC50s for GLP resulted between 6×10(4)- and 6.8×10(5)-fold higher than those observed for DDVP. In conclusion, GLP is a weak inhibitor of AChE in rats.
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