Species differences and human relevance of the toxicity of 4‐hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitors and a new approach method in vitro for investigation

Several plant protection products and pharmaceuticals work via inhibition of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD). Animal species have a substantially different sensitivity to this class of chemicals, and a key question for the regulatory assessment was how sensitive human beings are. CropLife Europe has invested into a systematic review of data across its members and the pharmaceutical uses, and to distill this into a clear conclusion: humans are rather insensitive, and safety data generated in the mouse is the best approximation to humans.  In the course of the project, an in vitro new approach method to compare the species sensitivity has been optimized to provide a regulatory option to replace animal experiments. Find the full scientific publication here.