Lambert, Spring 2015

CHEM 2311L-1

Glyphosate: An Organic and Analytical Analysis of Longevity

Travis D. Lambert
Organic chemistry laboratory
Spring 2015
Department of chemistry
Our Lady of the Lake College
February 27, 2015
In Partial Fulfillment of the Independent Project Component

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CHEM 2311L-1

Pesticides are thought to be linked with many different diseases and birth defects. Ever
since these volatile chemicals have been mass produced with less restrictions; abnormalities have
become more prevalent in countries that use them. Farmers are spraying entire crops with
pesticides, and the chemicals that arent making it into the plants or the soil are being washed
away into nearby bodies of water. Pesticides are somewhat regulated in the United States, but
there are countries that have even less restrictions. In Argentina there has been a rise in birth
defects since the pesticide Roundup has been approved for use. Studies have linked Roundup to
birth defects in the head and central nervous system of frog embyos. In later studies they tested
pure glyphosate against Roundup and determined that the same results were given in both trials
which leads one to believe that glyphosate is the main culprit.
This research will focus on the longevity of glyphosate in a body of water. Under the
right conditions glyphosate can maintain a half-life of up to 315 days (Mercurio) with
degradation attributed to the microbial community. Under low light conditions the molecule is
easily maintained, but even more so when in darkness. This work doesnt address if the samples
were taken close to the shore or in open water. This could be significant if the fish are taking up
this molecule and then passing it on to other organisms that either prey on the fish or come in
close proximity. They could have even tested the delineation between concentrations at certain
depths and compared those to concentrations that were found at those same depths closer to
shore. It is also in my interest to test the sediment at the bottom of the body of water in question.

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The situation becomes exacerbated when you think about how the farmers arent just
spraying their crops once a year. It is my understanding that some crops need to be sprayed
twice a growing season and some will even be sprayed as often as once or twice a week. This
could lead to much build-up of glyphosate in the soils and then eventually washed away to other
places like our schools, playgrounds, and drinking water.
In a paper written by Dr. Eva Sirinathsighji, they outline what glyphosate is, its effects on
the environment and human health. Dr. Sirinathsighji states that it is known to affect over 291
enzymes in the body. There are a substantial amount more enzymes than that in the body, but
some that are affected may be critical to major body processes. Since most of our body
processes are cascades, having one enzyme in that cascade malfunction could halt or over
produce a chemical.
This paper then goes on to explain that glyphosate is used so much in some countries that
it is almost ubiquitous throughout that environment. Glyphosate has been found in United States
water systems, soil, sediment, ground water, and ditches. One of the claims of glyphosates
safety is that it will bind to soil and sediment and will not leak out into our fresh water. In the
paper written by Dr. Sirinathsighji, it was outlined that Argentina rain samples measured 6.5
micrograms per liter. This goes to show how much is leaching out into the fresh water, and
surrounding environment which ultimately evaporates, forms clouds, and is spread around
through rain.
In an abstract from a paper that was published in 2014 the authors claimed that the halflife for glyphosate at 25C in low-light was 47 days and in complete dark at 25C it was 267 days,
but the most surprising was that at 31C in the dark it had a half-life of 315 days(Yang). As was
mentioned before crops arent just sprayed once a year. This type of half-life to number of times

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a year crops are sprayed ratio could lead to a build of glyphosate in the dark regions of a fresh
water source. This is what I want my research to focus on. I want to gather samples from nearby
water sources that are sprayed regularly with herbicides. This paper did not test the ability of
glyphosate to build in concentrations in the center and deepest parts of the water source.
Proximity to the shore could make a difference in concentration, not only in the water, but also in
the sediment. This build up could greatly affect the local aquatic animals.
Research has shown a link to cerebral abnormalities in young frog fetuses. This has been
consistent throughout all of the studies that I have read. The link is thought to be due to an
increase of retinoic acid (RA) activity. RA is an oxidizing form of vitamin A which is known to
be important during embryonic development, but having too much can also be detrimental to the
fetus. Even when they put an RA antagonist in with the reaction it was able to prevent the
teratogenic effect of glyphosate (Mercurio). Which confirms the identity of the culprit causing
these effects. This study then discussed how the retinoic acid was increased by glyphosate. RA
is regulated by the CYP26 enzymes which are part of the cytochrome P450 family (Mercurio).
So, it is their assumption that glyphosate increases the activity of RA by inhibiting the enzyme
that degrades it.
Methodology and Procedure
The methodology is going to be quite simple. I was going to collect samples from the
LSU lakes to run on GC/MS to quantify the amount of glyphosate present. GC/MS stands for gas
chromatography/ mass spectroscopy. This device allows one to separate the different molecules
present in a sample and then quantify and identify them using mass spectroscopy. Gas
chromatography works similarly to traditional chromatography but the chromatography is done
over a longer distance which allows for a better separation. A non-polar gas (helium) is pumped

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through the GC and GC column which is packed with silica beads. The beads allow the polar
molecules to slow down while the non-polar are eluted out with the Helium gas, and the nonpolar are eventually eluted. After leaving the glass column the molecules get an electron plucked
from them which forces most of them to shred apart and strike the detector. The computer can
determine the pieces that are able to stay intact, and from this one can determine, using the mass
spec. peaks, what the molecule probably was. For more advanced systems the computer that the
detector is connected to has a database and can give a percent probability of the molecule in
question.
I am actually very interested if I would find any glyphosate in the lakes at all. The
procedure would be as follows:
1. Build device that has a reliable way of obtaining samples at the different depths
and no contamination of other depths.
2. Obtain water samples at 2, 4, and 6 feet of water. If I can find anywhere deeper
than that then I will take those samples too.
3. Obtain water samples at these same depths at 10, 20, 40, and 100 yards away from
shore.
4. Obtain sediment samples at the above mentioned proximities from shore.
5. Return to lab and run water samples.
6. Sediment samples will need to be diluted and strained until very little sediment
remains so that it can be ran through GC/MS
7. Make a graph plotting my findings.
The results will be analyzed using Excel to plot graphs to determine if there are any significant
findings associated with this experiment. It is my understanding that at the deepest parts closest
to shore that there should be the highest concentration.

References

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CHEM 2311L-1

Mercurio, P., Flores, F., Mueller, JF., Carter, S., Negri, AP. Glyphosate persistence in seawater.
Pubmed [Online] 2014, 85, 385-390 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24467857 (accessed
February 3, 2015).
Yang, X., Wang F., Geissen V., Short-term transport of glyphosate with erosion in Chinese
loess soil- A flume experiment. Pubmed [Online] 2015, 406-414
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25644837 (accessed February 4, 2015).