human-plant-biology
Human-plant biology is an interdisciplinary field that examines the biological and physiological interactions between humans and plants, including how plant-derived compounds affect human health and how human activities influence plant development. Understanding these relationships is vital for plant science as it drives research into bioactive secondary metabolites, medicinal plant properties, and the co-evolutionary dynamics that have shaped plant chemistry over millennia.
PubMed · 2026-04-02
Herbicides don't just kill weeds — they hit biological targets that humans and plants share. This review identifies specific enzymes disrupted by herbicide exposure in humans and links them to immune dysfunction and gut microbiome damage, proposing these enzymes as early warning biomarkers for herbicide-related disease.
Four key enzymes — HPPD, ACC, GS, and PPO — are confirmed molecular targets of herbicides in both plants and humans, making them candidate biomarkers for early detection of herbicide-induced harm.
Several of these shared enzymes play active roles in regulating the immune response, meaning herbicide exposure may disrupt immune function through direct enzyme inhibition.
Herbicide target enzymes are also present in gut microbiota bacteria and fungi, providing a plausible mechanistic link between herbicide exposure and intestinal dysbiosis, which is increasingly associated with chronic diseases.