What is Roundup?
Roundup is a popular herbicide used specifically to kill weeds in gardens and on lawns. Monsanto, the company that produces Roundup, held an active patent on its active ingredient, glyphosate, until 2000. In that year, the rights to the patent were released, and although Roundup remains the leading brand of weed killer, more than 7 million pounds of glyphosphate are now applied to lawns every year under several different product names .
Glyphosphate
The active ingredient that allows Roundup to kill weeds is glyphosphate--more significantly, the isopropylamine salt of glyphosphate. Glyphosphates work by interfering with the synthesis of the essential amino acids that are needed for the plant to grow.
EPSP Synthase
For plants to grow, they need the enzyme EPSP synthase. This enzyme helps synthesize the proteins tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine. Once glyphosphate interrupts this enzyme and prevents it from working correctly, the plants can no longer build peptides. Without these peptides, a plant slowly browns and dies.
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Is Roundup Toxic?
Since human beings do not use the same enzymes that glyphosphates interrupt in plants, Roundup is not as toxic to humans as it is to plants. However, some of the other ingredients in Roundup can still cause serious health problems or allergies if they are ingested or if someone is exposed to and excess of it. Animals are safe as long as they do not ingest Roundup directly.
Uses
Roundup is effective in killing broadleaf plants, grasses, weeds and woody plants (Greenpeace 2007). However, Roundup has also been known to kill plants that gardeners and homeowners did not want affected. Homeowners should be careful in the use of Roundup around other plants they do not wish to get rid of.
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