Organophosphorus Compounds at 80: Some Old and New Issues

Abstract

One of the major classes of pesticides is that of the organophosphates (OPs). Initial developments date back almost 2 centuries but it was only in the mid-1940s that OPs reached a prominent status as insecticides, a status that, albeit declining, is still ongoing. OPs are highly toxic to nontarget species including humans, the primary effects being an acute cholinergic toxicity (responsible for thousands of poisoning each year) and a delayed polyneuropathy. Several issues of current debate and investigation on the toxicology of OPs are discussed in this brief review. These include (1) possible additional targets of OPs, (2) OPs as developmental neurotoxicants, (3) OPs and neurodegenerative diseases, (4) OPs and the "aerotoxic syndrome," (5) OPs and the microbiome, and (6) OPs and cancer. Some of these issues have been debated and studied for some time, while others are newer, suggesting that the study of the toxicology of OPs will remain an important scientific and public health issue for years to come.

Figure 1.

Number of papers listed in PubMed in selected years (1950–2015) using the search terms “organophosphorus” or “organophosphate.”

Figure 2.

General structure of OP insecticides.