Atrazine neural and reproductive toxicity

Abstract

Atrazine is one of the common herbicides with an annual usage of 70,000–90,000 tons worldwide. Due to its long half-life (>60 days), atrazine persists in water and soil for long-term periods. This herbicide induces oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in the exposed cells. It also passes the biological barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier and the blood-testis barrier. This review discusses, in detail, atrazine's detrimental effects on the different parts of the brain, including the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, substantia nigra, striatum, and cerebellum. Moreover, the current knowledge regarding the atrazine's effects on the reproductive system is also discussed.

Keywords:

• Herbicide
• atrazine
• neurotoxicity
• reproductive toxicity
• spermatogenesis

Acknowledgments

We thank the generous help of Dr. Frances Macri in revising the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest to publish this review.

Additional information

Funding

We express our sincere gratitude for the supports from the Vice Chancellor for Research, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. AMM received financial supports from the Italian Ministry of health-Ricercar Corrente to IRCCS Multimedica.