Glyphosat: the pathway in the body

This page shows the biochemical pathway of the substance Glyphosat: how it enters the body, which stations it passes and which steps it affects. Every statement has a source. The page describes general textbook knowledge and says nothing about any individual person.

In brief

Glyphosate is a herbicide and a derivative of the amino acid glycine. In plants and bacteria it occupies the PEP site of EPSP synthase in the shikimate pathway, which human cells do not have.

The pathway step by step

1. Glyphosate → AMPA soil bacteria Bacteria in soil and in plants cleave the glycine part off glyphosate. This yields AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), which breaks down more slowly. Source 6, 4
2. Glyphosate → Uptake in the gut After swallowing, the gut absorbs only a small part. The remainder stays in the gut contents and leaves the body with the stool. Source 3, 4
3. Uptake in the gut → In the blood The absorbed part is distributed with the blood. The body barely converts glyphosate; it stays almost entirely unchanged. Source 3
4. In the blood → Excretion in urine Glyphosate is excreted by the kidneys and appears unchanged in the urine. After a single intake it is detectable there only for a short time. Source 3, 5
5. Shikimate-3-phosphate → EPSP EPSP synthase · PEP EPSP synthase transfers an enolpyruvyl group from PEP onto shikimate-3-phosphate, forming EPSP. Source 1, 2
6. EPSP → Chorismate EPSP is converted into chorismate. It is the branch point from which the routes to the aromatic amino acids lead away. Source 2
7. Chorismate → Aromatic amino acids Via chorismate, plants and bacteria form phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan. Humans obtain these amino acids from food. Source 2

Cofactors in this pathway

• Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) — Second substrate of EPSP synthase; glyphosate occupies its binding site in the enzyme Source 1, 2
• Shikimate-3-phosphate — First substrate of EPSP synthase in the shikimate pathway Source 2
• Tryptophan — Aromatic amino acid at the end of the shikimate pathway in plants and bacteria Source 2In the ORY catalogue as a laboratory value: Tryptophan
• Tyrosine — Aromatic amino acid formed from the shikimate pathway via chorismate Source 2In the ORY catalogue as a laboratory value: Tyrosin
• Phenylalanine — Aromatic amino acid formed from the shikimate pathway via chorismate Source 2In the ORY catalogue as a laboratory value: Phenylalanin
• Glycine — Amino acid whose backbone glyphosate carries as N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine Source 1In the ORY catalogue as a laboratory value: Glycin

Sources

1. Steinrücken HC, Amrhein N. The herbicide glyphosate is a potent inhibitor of 5-enolpyruvyl-shikimic acid-3-phosphate synthase. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1980 · PubMed 7396959
2. Pollegioni L, Schonbrunn E et al. Molecular basis of glyphosate resistance-different approaches through protein engineering. FEBS J 2011 · PubMed 21668647
3. Anadón A, Martínez-Larrañaga MR et al. Toxicokinetics of glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphonic acid in rats. Toxicol Lett 2009 · PubMed 19607892
4. Connolly A, Coggins MA et al. Human Biomonitoring of Glyphosate Exposures: State-of-the-Art and Future Research Challenges. Toxics 2020 · PubMed 32824707
5. Zoller O, Rhyn P et al. Urine glyphosate level as a quantitative biomarker of oral exposure. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2020 · PubMed 32305862
6. Duke SO. Glyphosate degradation in glyphosate-resistant and -susceptible crops and weeds. J Agric Food Chem 2011 · PubMed 20919737

As of 2026-09-18. Draft, written by Claude to schema v2; sources checked in PubMed; expert approval pending
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