Work

Early-life herbicides exposure with gut microbiota and neurobehavioral development of hospitalized infants in China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Herbicides exposure has been linked to impaired neurodevelopment and gut microbiome alterations, but their effects on neonates remain insufficiently understood. In a cohort of 216 hospitalized neonates, we measured herbicides concentrations in neonatal peripheral blood plasma, characterized gut microbiota through 16S rRNA sequencing, and conducted neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA). We assessed herbicides exposure and NBNA scores using generalized linear regression and multi-pollutant models (quantile-based g-computation [QGC] and weighted quantile sum regression). The CTD and GeneCards were used to retrieve target genes for herbicides exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders, followed by enrichment pathway analysis. We examined gut microbime differences due to herbicide exposures, predicted functional pathways using PICRUSt2, and analyzed associations between taxa abundance and NBNA scores with MaAsLin2. Trifluralin, propyzamide, oxadiazon, and fluazifop-butyl were inversely associated with NBNA scores, mainly affecting behavior and passive tone (all P FDR <0.05). QGC model indicated a significant inverse association between mixed herbicides exposure with passive tone (β: −0.105, 95 %CI: −0.207,-0.003). Bioinformatics analysis identified 183 genes as potential targets for neurodevelopmental disorders associated with herbicides exposure. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that these genes were primarily involved in processes such as translation, ribosome function, and amino acid and derivative metabolism. Gut microbiota analysis showed that herbicides exposure significantly altered infant gut microbiome, with significant differences in the relative abundances of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes phyla, and Escherichia_Shigella and Acinetobacter genera ( P < 0.05). The phenylalanine metabolism pathway was related to herbicides exposure, with upregulation of specific gene expressions in high exposure group. Furthermore, no significant associations were observed between gut microbial genera and neurobehavioral scores. Herbicides exposure were inversely associated with neurobehavioral development of hospitalized infants. The potential mechanisms may involve processes such as translation, ribosome function, and amino acid and derivative metabolism. Herbicides exposure also significantly altered infant gut microbiome. • Individual exposure to specific herbicides were inversely associated with NBNA scores in hospitalized neonates. • Herbicides mixture exposure showed significant inverse associaton with NBNA scores in the QGC model. • Bioinformatics analysis linked herbicide-associated neurodevelopmental disorders to translation and amino acid metabolism. • Herbicide exposure significantly altered infant gut microbiome.

Source: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2026.119857