Surfactant effect not surprising . The authors acknowledge that the active ingredient glyphosate did not cause protein inhibition, leading them to surmise that another ingredient in the herbicide was the cause. Roundup contains three ingredients glyphosate, water and a surfactant. The surfactant is a tallowamine, like ingredients used in many soaps and detergents. The purpose of a surfactant is to disrupt or penetrate the waxy surface of leaves, allowing the herbicide to penetrate.
Surfactants are present in many common products .
The exposure humans have to the surfactant in Roundup is far less than human exposure to surfactants in other products, such as soaps, detergents and shampoos. For example, the exposure to surfactants from a normal daily practice of washing dishes or bathing in a tub of soapy water is far greater than the exposure most people will ever have to Roundup sprayed in an agricultural field or brush-control environment. Copyright 2001 Monsanto Company. All rights reserved. Retransmission, reproduction or distribution without express written permission of Monsanto Company is prohibited.