Pesticides and Human Health: The Influence of Pesticides on Levels of Naturally-Occurring Plant and Fungal Toxins

Abstract

While the potential health risks from pesticide residues generate significant public, legislative, and regulatory concern, it is possible that agricultural pesticide use may, on occasion, influence dietary risks. It has been proposed that pesticide use may reduce the risks associated with naturally-occurring toxins of plants and fungi by reducing the pest pressures which may stress plants into producing their own toxins or by controlling the fungi responsible for mycotoxin production. Very little direct research has been published investigating such pesticide/natural toxin relationships, however; the limited results have indicated that pesticide use may increase or decrease naturally -occurring toxin levels. Current regulatory programs to examine such relationships are burdened by statutory limitations and jurisdictional issues. Present U.S. pesticide regulations allow only very limited consideration of benefits such as decreased risks from naturally -occurring toxins, and separate federal agencies control the regulation of pesticides and the regulation of naturally-occurring food toxins.Pesticide residues and their potential human health effects continue to receive considerable public, legislative, and regulatory attention while media accounts of this controversial topic remain frequent. The passage of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of 1996 (7) has presented tremendous challenges to pesticide regulators as they strive to more effectively perform risk assessments that consider factors such as cumulative and aggregate exposure and the special exposure and susceptibility issues of sub-populations (i.e. infants and children). Enforcement of FQPA may result in a significant number of regulatory actions limiting the uses of many pesticides, particularly those which belong to families of chemicals that share common toxicological mechanisms of action such as the organophosphate insecticides, the carbamate insecticides, and the triazine herbicides.

Organic Foods

“…Winter (1999) published a review summarizing the influence of pesticides on the levels of naturally occurring toxins in food and concluded that very few studies had been conducted that directly related pesticide use to the levels of naturally occurring toxins, particularly in the case of plant secondary metabolites. The review cited examples showing reductions in mycotoxin levels in foods and fungal cultures treated with fungicides.…”

Interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Meloidogyne incognitain the ornamental plant Impatiens balsamina

“…Measures to control disease include, sound crop rotation programs, development of resistant plant germplasm and application of nematicides (Chitwood 2002). However, nematicide application provokes undesired non-target effects, calling for plant disease management protocols based on biological resources (Winter 1999). AMF represents a well-known beneficial biological resource in relation to plant production in agroecosystems, where improved host plant nutrition and health are among the most important ecosystem services provided (Gianinazzi et al 2010).…”