Dietary pesticides (99. 99% all natural)

Journal Article · Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.87.19.7777· OSTI ID:5802754

Ames, B N; Profet, M; Gold, L S ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, Berkeley (USA)

The toxicological significance of exposures to synthetic chemicals is examined in the context of exposures to naturally occurring chemicals. The authors calculate that 99.99{percent} (by weight) of the pesticides in the American diet are chemicals that plants produce to defend themselves. Only 52 natural pesticides have been tested in high-dose animal cancer tests, and about half (27) are rodent carcinogens; these 27 are shown to be present in many common foods. They conclude that natural and synthetic chemicals are equally likely to be positive in animal cancer tests. They also conclude that at the low doses of most human exposures the comparative hazards of synthetic pesticide residues are insignificant.

• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 5802754
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA), Vol. 87:19; ISSN 0027-8424
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
PESTICIDES
TOXICITY
CAFFEINE
CARCINOGENESIS
CARCINOGENS
DIET
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
HUMAN POPULATIONS
LABORATORY ANIMALS
MUTAGENESIS
PSORALEN
ANALEPTICS
ANTICOAGULANTS
AROMATICS
AZAARENES
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS
COUMARINS
DRUGS
HEMATOLOGIC AGENTS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PATHOGENESIS
POPULATIONS
PURINES
XANTHINES
550200* - Biochemistry