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Rotenone linked to Parkinson's |
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"Rotenone" is a popular and widely used "organic" pesticide which is derived from the root of the derris tree, and is supposed to be completely harmless to humans and the environment. Apparently not so - as this recent research has discovered. Most troubling though is the high possibility of rotenone being present even in "organic" fruit and vegetables, because of its "organic" classification. | |
Even more troubling is the fact that what is a small and perhaps tolerable dose to an adult is - because of their much smaller body mass - a HUGE dose to embryos, infants, babies and small children.
Here, and in this case, the only solution is to banish it from your own gardens, to buy fruit and vegetables from local "organic" growers who do not use rotenone or, if possible, to grow your own completely poison-free and supremely healthy fruit and vegetables, by following the methods as described in
POISON FREE AGRI in these pages.
And for those who do not have access to land for growing vegetables, I would strongly recommend to team up with friends or neighbours who have the requisite land, and to grow your own poison-free vegetables together. This can be a lot of fun - especially when following the gardening advice given here - and usually there is far to much produce for one family at harvest time anyway.
The original article:
Parkinson’s Linked To Pesticide
An Emory University study, headed by Dr Timothy Greenamyre, is the first to implicate rotenone, a non-toxic pesticide commonly used in backyards. Rotenone produces all the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in rats that have had steady amounts of the chemical fed into their bloodstream. The results will be published in the December 2000 issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. Stronger forms of rotenone, which is derived from the root of the derris tree, are used to kill noxious species of fish.
While it is still too soon to say that the pesticide causes or contributes to Parkinson's disease in humans, the scientists said the finding was the best evidence so far that chemicals in the environment may be factors. The rats in the study received the chemical through their jugular veins from one to five weeks so that it would not be broken down or metabolised in the digestive tract.
During the exposure, the rats grew stiff, hunched over and developed tremors - precisely the kind of symptoms that develop in Parkinson's disease. "When we examined their brains we saw that they had a progressive degeneration of the dopamine system that goes awry in Parkinson's," Dr Greenamyre said. "It was extremely specific."
But it remains to be seen if rotenone is a factor in the human disease or if it is just one of many toxins that have to work in concert before Parkinson's will develop in the brain.
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