Glyphosate chelated Magnesium, Zinc, etc. before being used as a herbicide

Glyphosate was originally patented and used as an industrial chelating agent — essentially a descaling chemical for cleaning out pipes, boilers, and other industrial equipment.

The story has two threads:

1. It was first synthesized in 1950 by Swiss chemist Henri Martin at the pharmaceutical company Cilag, but no pharmaceutical use was ever found, and the compound sat unused.

2. It was independently re-synthesized in 1964 by Stauffer Chemical, which patented it as a chelator. Glyphosate binds tightly to divalent and trivalent metal cations (calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, iron), so it was used to strip mineral scale and metal deposits from industrial water systems.

The herbicidal property wasn't discovered until 1970, when John Franz at Monsanto screened it as part of a program looking for new herbicides. Roundup hit the market in 1974.

Interestingly, that chelating activity is the same property that drives much of the ongoing controversy about glyphosate's biological effects — the argument being that residual glyphosate may bind essential mineral cofactors in soil, plants, gut microbes, and humans, which is relevant to nutrient availability and potentially to vitamin D–related metabolic pathways given how mineral-dependent that system is.

---

Related in Vitamin D Life

Glyphosate

• Off topic: Roundup may be source of many medical problem increases
• Glyphosate Is Causing Fatty Liver Disease and many other problems
• Investigation on Roundup - glyphosate at Vitamin D Life
• Huge increases in health problems – risk factors include Vitamin D, Antibiotics, and Roundup

Zinc

• Zinc and Vitamin D aid each other, both improve immunity

• Zinc cut in half the rate of prediabetes progressing to diabetes (20 mg) – RCT

• Deficiencies of Vitamin D, Iron, Magnesium, and Zinc all associated with ADHD
  wonder if Glyphosate decreases Zinc. which increases ADHD, diabetes, etc.

Magnesium

• Deficiencies of Vitamin D, Iron, Magnesium, and Zinc all associated with ADHD
• Behavior disorders reduced with Magnesium, Omega-3, and Zinc
  and increase if Magneium and Zinc are lacking
• Magnesium Role in Health and Longevity - many studies
• Asthma is also fought by Magnesium - many studies
• Magnesium and Cancer - many studies