E3 PreliminaryPreliminaryPEM unclearReview-NarrativePeer-reviewedMachine draft
Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: Manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies.
Samsel, Anthony, Seneff, Stephanie · Surgical neurology international · 2015 · DOI
Quick Summary
This paper explores whether glyphosate (a common herbicide in Roundup) might deplete the body of manganese, an essential mineral needed for brain health, nerve protection, and gut bacteria balance. The authors suggest that low manganese levels could contribute to various neurological conditions and gut problems, and they propose a mechanism connecting herbicide exposure to these health issues.
Why It Matters
ME/CFS patients frequently experience neurological symptoms, mitochondrial dysfunction, and dysbiosis. This paper's proposed mechanism linking environmental manganese depletion to mitochondrial energy failure and dysbiosis could help explain some ME/CFS pathophysiology if the underlying associations were confirmed in patient populations.
Observed Findings
- Cows fed genetically modified Roundup-Ready feed showed severe serum manganese depletion
- Glyphosate has been shown to deplete manganese levels in plants
- Manganese is required for multiple essential body functions including mitochondrial protection and antioxidant synthesis
- Lactobacillus species (often depleted in autism and dysbiosis) are critically dependent on manganese for antioxidant protection
Inferred Conclusions
- Glyphosate-induced manganese depletion may contribute to neurological diseases through impaired mitochondrial function and dysbiosis
- Manganese deficiency could explain glutamate excitotoxicity and neuroinflammation in various neurological conditions
- Glyphosate may indirectly promote pathogenic bacterial overgrowth by depleting manganese-dependent protective bacteria
- Under adequate dietary manganese, glyphosate's disruption of bile acid homeostasis could paradoxically cause toxic manganese accumulation in the brainstem
Remaining Questions
- Does glyphosate exposure actually cause manganese depletion in human populations, and at what exposure levels?
- Are manganese levels measurably low in ME/CFS patients compared to controls, and does supplementation improve symptoms?
What This Study Does Not Prove
This mechanistic review does not provide direct experimental evidence that glyphosate exposure causes manganese depletion in humans, nor does it prove causality between manganese levels and ME/CFS development. The study is correlation-based reasoning rather than controlled intervention or observational research in affected populations, and alternative explanations for the observed associations are not thoroughly addressed.
Tags
Symptom:Cognitive DysfunctionFatigue
Biomarker:MetabolomicsBlood Biomarker
Method Flag:Exploratory Only
Metadata
- DOI
- 10.4103/2152-7806.153876
- PMID
- 25883837
- Review status
- Machine draft
- Evidence level
- Early hypothesis, preprint, editorial, or weak support
- Last updated
- 8 April 2026
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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