Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, Glyphosate, etc. deactivate Vitamin D genes

Pesticides \& Vitamin D: Genes Affected

Pesticide Type	Key Examples	Effect on Vitamin D	Primary Mechanism	Vitamin D Genes Affected	Effect Direction
Insecticides (Organochlorine)	DDT, beta-HCH, lindane	Lower serum 25(OH)D in humans 1 2	Lipophilic compounds accumulate in fat, disrupt vitamin D storage and steroid metabolism 2	GC (vitamin D binding protein gene), VDR, CYP27A1 — also synergize with glyphosate to suppress CYP27A1 further 3	⬇️ Decreases Vitamin D
Insecticides (Organophosphate)	Chlorpyrifos	Disrupts vitamin D synthesis enzymes in skin cells 4	Alters CYP enzyme activity in keratinocytes and fibroblasts exposed to UVB 5 4	CYP27A1 (↓), CYP27B1 (altered), CYP24A1 (↑), VDR (↑ upregulated as a compensatory response) 5 4	⬇️ Disrupts metabolism
Herbicides (Glyphosate)	Roundup, glyphosate	Reduces vitamin D via at least 9 mechanisms 3	Inhibits CYP enzymes needed for 25-hydroxylation and 1α-hydroxylation; epigenetic silencing via DNA methylation 3	CYP2R1 (↓), CYP27B1 (↓ epigenetically silenced), VDR (↓ hypermethylated), CYP27A1 (↓ synergistic with aluminum) 3	⬇️ Strongly decreases Vitamin D
Herbicides/Insecticides (Organophosphates — soil applied)	Parathion, terbufos	Increases prostate cancer risk via vitamin D gene interaction 6	Gene-environment interaction modifies how these pesticides affect cancer risk 6 7	VDR, RXRB (retinoid X receptor beta), GC (rs7041 SNP — vitamin D binding protein) 6	⬇️ Modifies vitamin D pathway gene function
Fungicides (Triazole)	Prothioconazole, tebuconazole	Disrupts vitamin D metabolism via CYP inhibition 8	Triazole ring structure directly inhibits CYP enzymes, the same family that activates vitamin D 8	CYP2R1, CYP27A1, CYP27B1 (all susceptible to triazole CYP inhibition) 8 9	⬇️ Likely decreases Vitamin D
Rodenticides	Cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3)	Vitamin D3 is the active ingredient 10	Supraphysiologic doses cause hypercalcemia and organ failure in rodents 10	CYP24A1 (overwhelmed catabolism), VDR (overstimulated), TRPV6/TRPV5 (calcium transport genes dysregulated) 9	⬆️ Vitamin D toxicity
Fumigants	Methyl bromide, phosphine	Indirect effects via gut microbiome disruption 11	Gut microbiome alterations impair microbial regulation of endocrine vitamin D pathways 11	CYP27B1 (indirectly affected via gut-liver axis); GC binding may be impaired 11	⬇️ Possible indirect effect

Key Vitamin D Genes — Quick Reference

For context, these are the core genes appearing across multiple pesticide categories:

• CYP2R1 / CYP27A1 — liver 25-hydroxylation (first activation step)⁹
  seen by a Vitamin D test
• CYP27B1 — kidney 1α-hydroxylation (second activation step, produces active calcitriol)⁵
• CYP24A1 — catabolic enzyme that breaks down vitamin D (upregulation = faster degradation)⁴
• VDR — Vitamin D Receptor, binds calcitriol to trigger gene expression¹²
• GC — encodes vitamin D binding protein (VDBP), which transports vitamin D in blood⁶
• RXRB — heterodimerizes with VDR to amplify vitamin D signaling^{6 13 14 15 16 17 18}

Gene chart on VitaminDWiki

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Adverse Health Effects of Pesticides Transported from Point of Application

TrialSiteNews - April 2026
Huge summary of the health problems. Does NOT discuss vitamin D

• "A recent JAMA article examined proximity to golf courses and incidence of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), and found higher incidence of PD for people who lived within a few miles of golf courses. "

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Related in VitaminDwiki

• DDT and other pesticides decrease vitamin D
• Pesticides increase risk of Cancers, Alz, ALS, Asthma, ADHD, etc. (all related to low vitamin D)
• Pesticides 8 X less likely to result in female infertility if take vitamin D
• Glyphosate reduces Vitamin D in 9 ways
• 13 X increase of Glyphosate in urine in 23 years – JAMA
• 20+ chronic stressors result in poor health
  • Off topic – Roundup found to be 125X more toxic than its active ingredient (glyphosate)
    
    Perplexity reference below