A research group led by Associate Professor Jun Ueyama of Nagoya University Graduate School, in collaboration with Fukuoka University, has found a relationship between daily pesticide intake and the amount of fecal metabolites, which is one of the indicators of the intestinal environment. demonstrated for the first time epidemiologically.
Pesticides exist in our living environment as chemical substances that are very familiar to us, and we take them in small amounts on a daily basis.On the other hand, in animal experiments, the results showing the effects of exposure to chemical substances on the intestinal environment have been reported one after another.Therefore, chemical substances that we are exposed to on a daily basis may be one of the variables in the human intestinal environment.This time, the research group investigated the relationship between daily exposure to pesticides and the intestinal environment in humans for the first time.
In the research, urine and feces were collected from 38 general consumers, and the exposure level was evaluated by measuring the pesticide metabolites in the urine (biomonitoring), and whether it affected the intestinal flora and metabolite concentrations. evaluated.As a result, fecal acetic acid and lactic acid concentrations tended to decrease as the urinary dialkyl phosphate concentration, known as an exposure marker for organophosphorus pesticides, increased.Multivariate analysis adjusted for diet and lifestyle also detected urinary dialkyl phosphate as a significant explanatory variable for fecal acetic acid.The role of acetic acid in the large intestine is known to be its protective action against intestinal infections.
Although the mechanism of action has not been clarified, this was the first survey to obtain results suggesting that daily exposure to organophosphorus pesticides affects fecal acetic acid concentration, which contributes to intestinal immune regulation. .Considering the long-term effects of the human intestinal environment on the host, it is necessary to expand the target age range to include children and pregnant women.It is urgent to confirm the reproducibility of the results of this study in a different population and to elucidate the mechanism through an experimental approach.
Paper information:[International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health] Effects of Pesticide Intake on Gut Microbiota and Metabolites in Healthy Adults
