SDHI fungicides used in agriculture: ANSES sets up a dedicated expert group

In an article published recently in the press, several scientists drew attention to the potential health risks of using succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides in agriculture. This led ANSES to call on its experts to consider all the available scientific data on this subject and, in particular, to immediately examine the evidence mentioned by the scientists raising the alert.

Succinate dehydrogenases are ubiquitous enzymes involved in cell respiration in a vast number of living organisms: bacteria, moulds and mammals, including humans. Blocking this essential cell function with inhibitors known as succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) is the basis for the effectiveness of this class of compounds, which have been used over the past couple of decades to combat fungal plant diseases. Because succinate dehydrogenases are known to be implicated in certain diseases in humans, several scientists formulated the hypothesis, in a recently-published press article, that there may be health risks associated with the use of SDHIs as fungicides in agriculture.

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