Glyphosate was found in the semen of 60% of infertile men in a French study. Concentrations were four times higher in the semen than in the blood.
French researchers have detected the herbicide glyphosate in human semen for the first time, in concentrations that are four times higher than in the blood. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup product, has been linked to a wide variety of negative health effects, including cancer and reproductive toxicity.
Details of the worrying discovery are reported in a study in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.
The researchers looked at samples of seminal fluid and blood from 128 male partners of infertile couples who were otherwise without any chronic illnesses or physical abnormalities. The men were aged 26-57 years.
Out of the 128 men sampled, 73 had levels of glyphosate in their blood and semen that were above the lower limit of quantification. Glyphosate levels in semen were found to be nearly four times higher than in blood.
