Advances in Selective Bioactivity and Toxicity of Chiral Triazole Fungicides and Their Selective Behavior in Mammals

As one of the most widely used fungicides in global agriculture, chiral triazole fungicides play a crucial role in crop protection due to their broad-spectrum efficacy. However, the environmental problems caused by their widespread use are becoming increasingly prominent. These problems not only cause ecological pollution but also pose potential risks to human health and the safety of ecosystems. In response to these problems, developing optically pure monomer pesticides that are highly efficient yet low in toxicity has become a key strategy. This reduces both the dosage required and the impact on nontarget organisms. In recent years, the research focus on chiral triazole fungicides has expanded from evaluating a single biological activity to assessing stereoselective toxicity, environmental behavior, and metabolic fate in a multidimensional way. Despite growing academic interest in the stereoselective toxicological effects and metabolic differences of nontarget organisms (particularly mammals), most available reviews have focused on biological activity and environmental fate. Furthermore, there is a lack of reviews that systematically evaluate the stereoselective behavior of these pesticides in mammals, which restricts our overall understanding of the safety of this class of pesticides. Based on this, this paper not only lists the stereoselective bioactivities and toxicological differences of chiral triazole fungicides but also, for the first time, focuses on the mammalian system, providing a comprehensive elucidation of their stereoselective behaviors from the perspectives of metabolism in rat liver microsomes, toxicokinetic characteristics, metabolomics, and gut microbiota. The aim of this review is to address the shortcomings of existing reviews and to serve as a reference for the development of optically pure, environmentally friendly, low-toxicity, and efficient monomer pesticides.