Glufosinate Ammonium

Glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium are non-selective, broad spectrum herbicides for controlling grasses in agriculture and forestry. Rapid and sensitive analytical methods for effective monitoring and subsequent risk control of glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium and their metabolites in crops are not available. In this paper, an analytical method for the simultaneous determination of glyphosate, glufosinate ammonium, and their metabolites in maize and soybean by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was established. The seven compounds were well separated on an anion exchange analytical column within 10 min, with the mean recoveries of the target compounds ranging from 78.2 to 110.9%. The method showed good linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9819) with a limit of quantification for glyphosate, glufosinate ammonium, and their metabolites of 0.01 mg kg-1 in both maize and soybean. The method simplifies and expedites the sample preparation procedures, overcomes the traditional disadvantages including derivatization, weak retention, and low sensitivity, and has been successfully validated in actual maize and soybean samples.

As the two most commonly used organophosphorus herbicides, glyphosate (Gly) and glufosinate-ammonium (Glu) have unique properties for weed control and algae removal in aquaculture. However, the occurrences and health risks of Gly and Glu in aquaculture ponds are rare known. This study aimed to investigate the occurrences of Gly, AMPA (primary metabolity of Gly) and Glu in surface water, sediment and aquatic products from the grass carp (ctenopharyngodon idella), crayfish (procambarus clarkii) and crab (eriocheir sinensis) ponds around Lake Honghu, the largest freshwater lake in Hubei province, China where aquaculture has become the local pillar industry. Three age groups (children, young adults, middle-aged and elderly) exposure to these compounds through edible aquatic products (muscle) consumption were also assessed by target hazard quotient (THQ) method. The results indicated that Gly, AMPA and Glu were widely occurred in surface water, sediment and organisms in the fish, crayfish and crab ponds. AMPA was more likely to accumulate in the intestine of aquatic products than Gly and Glu. According to the total THQ value (1.04>1), muscle consumption of grass carp may pose potential risk to children.

Glufosinate ammonium-containing herbicides are non-selective herbicides, used worldwide. With the increasing use of glufosinate ammonium-containing herbicides, cases of acute intoxication in suicide attempts have also increased. Herein, we report a case of a patient presenting cytotoxic edema in the posterior limbs of the bilateral internal capsules, bilateral middle cerebellar peduncles, and splenium of the corpus callosum on the brain diffusion-weighted MRI after glufosinate ammonium intoxication.