Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species

Agrochemicals have been shown to affect non-target organisms and are often applied as mixtures of active ingredient and co-formulants. Although there is evidence that co-formulants play a role in these effects, their contribution has hardly been studied. Therefore, we studied effects of co-formulan...

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Main Authors: Eichberg, Carsten, Laber, Lars, Jaß, Scarlett, García, Andrés, Donath, Tobias
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25043
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935126000903?via%3Dihub
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2026.123762
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author Eichberg, Carsten
Laber, Lars
Jaß, Scarlett
García, Andrés
Donath, Tobias
author_browse Donath, Tobias
Eichberg, Carsten
García, Andrés
Jaß, Scarlett
Laber, Lars
author_facet Eichberg, Carsten
Laber, Lars
Jaß, Scarlett
García, Andrés
Donath, Tobias
author_sort Eichberg, Carsten
collection INTA Digital
description Agrochemicals have been shown to affect non-target organisms and are often applied as mixtures of active ingredient and co-formulants. Although there is evidence that co-formulants play a role in these effects, their contribution has hardly been studied. Therefore, we studied effects of co-formulants on seed germination (percentage, time, synchrony) using a common anthelmintic formulation. The seeds of four species of temperate grasslands (Achillea ptarmica, Agrostis capillaris, Dianthus deltoides, Plantago lanceolata) were exposed to a commercial moxidectin formulation at a concentration of 10 mg l−1 as well as three of its co-formulants: benzyl alcohol (BA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA-Na2). Results showed that the tested anthelmintic formulation as a whole and two of its co-formulants (BA, BHT) as individual substances significantly impacted germination behaviour of the test species. Formulation, BA and BHT significantly reduced germination percentage in all species compared to the control, with BA exerting the strongest effect (reduction up to 99 %). The same three treatments significantly increased mean germination time in all species by a factor of two to four. Germination synchrony showed a weaker response and was only affected in two species (A. capillaris, D. deltoides) and only by BHT (reduction of 49 % and 60 %, respectively). The strong effects of BA and BHT on seed germination suggest that their contribution to effects of anthelmintic formulations is at least partly due to an independent impact. Therefore, co-formulants should be given greater consideration both in the design of ecotoxicological experiments and in environmental risk assessments.
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spelling INTA250432026-01-26T14:07:08Z Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species Eichberg, Carsten Laber, Lars Jaß, Scarlett García, Andrés Donath, Tobias Antihelmínticos Germinación de la Semilla Pastizales Fitotoxicidad Anthelmintics Sprouting of Seed Pastures Phytotoxicity Agrochemicals have been shown to affect non-target organisms and are often applied as mixtures of active ingredient and co-formulants. Although there is evidence that co-formulants play a role in these effects, their contribution has hardly been studied. Therefore, we studied effects of co-formulants on seed germination (percentage, time, synchrony) using a common anthelmintic formulation. The seeds of four species of temperate grasslands (Achillea ptarmica, Agrostis capillaris, Dianthus deltoides, Plantago lanceolata) were exposed to a commercial moxidectin formulation at a concentration of 10 mg l−1 as well as three of its co-formulants: benzyl alcohol (BA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA-Na2). Results showed that the tested anthelmintic formulation as a whole and two of its co-formulants (BA, BHT) as individual substances significantly impacted germination behaviour of the test species. Formulation, BA and BHT significantly reduced germination percentage in all species compared to the control, with BA exerting the strongest effect (reduction up to 99 %). The same three treatments significantly increased mean germination time in all species by a factor of two to four. Germination synchrony showed a weaker response and was only affected in two species (A. capillaris, D. deltoides) and only by BHT (reduction of 49 % and 60 %, respectively). The strong effects of BA and BHT on seed germination suggest that their contribution to effects of anthelmintic formulations is at least partly due to an independent impact. Therefore, co-formulants should be given greater consideration both in the design of ecotoxicological experiments and in environmental risk assessments. EEA Cesáreo Naredo Fil: Eichberg, Carsten. Trier University. Geobotany, Spatial and Environmental Sciences; Alemania Fil: Laber, Lars. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania Fil: Jaß, Scarlett. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania Fil: García, Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Cesáreo Naredo, Agencia de Extensión Rural Coronel Suárez; Argentina Fil: García, Andrés. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania Fil: Donath, Tobias W. Kiel University. Institute for Natural Resource Conservation. Department of Landscape Ecology; Alemania 2026-01-26T13:26:30Z 2026-01-26T13:26:30Z 2026-03 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25043 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935126000903?via%3Dihub 0013-9351(print) 1096-0953 (online) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2026.123762 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Elsevier Environmental Research 293 : 123762. (March 2026)
spellingShingle Antihelmínticos
Germinación de la Semilla
Pastizales
Fitotoxicidad
Anthelmintics
Sprouting of Seed
Pastures
Phytotoxicity
Eichberg, Carsten
Laber, Lars
Jaß, Scarlett
García, Andrés
Donath, Tobias
Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
title Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
title_full Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
title_fullStr Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
title_full_unstemmed Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
title_short Independent impacts of co-formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
title_sort independent impacts of co formulants contained in anthelmintic formulations on seed germination of grassland species
topic Antihelmínticos
Germinación de la Semilla
Pastizales
Fitotoxicidad
Anthelmintics
Sprouting of Seed
Pastures
Phytotoxicity
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/25043
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935126000903?via%3Dihub
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2026.123762
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