Paraquat Poisoning – A Brief Overview

Paraquat poisoning in the modern era has become a major medical health problem, due to its high case fatality rate. The toxicological importance of this herbicide is due to its inherent toxicity and lack of specific antidote . It is one of the commonly used agents responsible for death among the reported pesticide poisonings in south east Asian countries. The high mortality rates associated has led to the withdrawal of this herbicide from the market by the European Union in 2007, but in developing countries like India it is widely marketed due to its low cost and high efficacy . Although several studies have been done globally, there are no extensive published human trials. In Asian pacific regions where pesticides are commonly used for suicidal or homicidal ingestion, it has become a subject of concern and there is a growing need to focus on prevention due lack of specific antidote .This article endeavors to revisit the profile of paraquat (PQ) and to investigate the impacts of this chemical on human health with a future direction to create awareness about this highly toxic nonselective herbicide and to consider it as a part of national strategy to lower suicidal mortality rates.