{"Absorption, Distribution and Excretion":"In a fatal case of paraquat poisoning in a pregnant woman, who developed the typical symptoms and signs of paraquat poisoning and at postmortem had the typical lung pathology of paraquat poisoning, the fetal lungs were normal. ...However, ...the details /as reported/ of nine pregnant women who deliberately ingested paraquat, stated that paraquat in one case was concentrated 4-6 times in the fetus. In another of the cases, the amniotic fluid contained paraquat at twice the concentration of that in the maternal blood.","Adverse Effects":"Occupational hepatotoxin - Secondary hepatotoxins: the potential for toxic effect in the occupational setting is based on cases of poisoning by human ingestion or animal experimentation.","Aliases":["Paraquat","Paraquat ion","Paraquat dication","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium","Dimethyl viologen","Starfire","Methyl viologen","4,4'-Bipyridinium, 1,1'-dimethyl-","Methyl viologen ion(2+)","N,N'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridyldiylium","N,N'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium dication","N,N'-Dimethyl-γ,γ'-dipyridylium","Dtxsid3034799","Chebi:34905","Viologen, Methyl","Dtxcid1014799","225-141-7","Weedol","Spraytop-graze","ne X","CCRIS 7731","HSDB 1668","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium salt","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium cation","1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridin-1-ium","1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridium","Mls001332595","1-methyl-4-(1-methyl(4-pyridyl))pyridine","Smr000875209","Einecs 225-141-7","Unii-plg39h7695","KHJ","PRIGLONE","Paraquat cation","3240-78-6","ChemDiv3_000231","NCIMech_000502","NCIOpen2_005422","Schembl21652","Mls001304933","Bidd:er0480","Chembl74469","1,1'-Dimethyl-[4,4'-bipyridine]-1,1'-diium","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridyldiylium ion (8CI)(9CI)","BDBM96275","cid_5351279","HMS1473K11","1,1 '-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium","CCG-35984","SBB090482","STK387391","Akos001483177","Idi1_019549","Ncgc00166161-02","DA-56591","Nci60_002105","Smr000752910","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridyldiylium ion","NS00010483","ST45025935","Bipyridinium, 1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-","1,1'-dimethyl-[4,4'-bipyridin]-1,1'-diium","1,1'-Dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridium bromide","Ac-907/25005209","1-methyl-4-(1-methyl-4-pyridin-1-iumyl)pyridin-1-ium;chloride","1-methyl-4-(1-methylpyridin-1-ium-4-yl)pyridin-1-ium;chloride"],"Biological Half-Life":"Assessment of accumulation of paraquat in the lungs: 3 week inhalation study in rats (15 exposures). ...Lung concentrations in the high dose group peaked on about day 4 (4.71 mg paraquat/l), dropping to about half that concentration with continued dosing. Mean lung weights increased sharply after the fifth exposure in the high dose group to about 170% of controls. The elimination half-life was about 2 days.","Boiling Point":"Boiling point (760 mm Hg): Decomposes at 175-180 °C (347-356 °F)","CAS":"4685-14-7","Chemical Classes":"Carcinogens","ChemicalClasses":["pyridine"],"Chirality":"achiral","Classes":["Neurotoxin"],"Color/Form":"Yellow solid","Decomposition":"When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of /nitric oxides/.","Density":"1.24 g/cm\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e","Ecotoxicity Values":"LD50; Species: Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard) oral 199 mg/kg (95% confidence limit 144-276 mg/kg)","Esters":[],"European Community (EC) Number":"225-141-7","Formating":[],"Health Effects":"It can cause temporary damage to nails and if swalloed, may cause nose bleeding. Long term exposures to paraquat would most likely cause lung and eye damage. Some suspect a possible link to a greater incidence of Parkinson's disease. Pancreatitis may develop in some cases of acute. Paraquat is caustic to the oral, esophageal, and gastric mucosa (T36, A545, L421).","HeavyAtomCount":14,"Human Toxicity Values":"... High dose (\u003e40 mg paraquat ion/ kg bw = 20 mL of 20-24% concentrate): toxicity is much more severe and death occurs early (24-48 hr) from multiple organ failure. ...","IUPACName":"1-methyl-4-(1-methylpyridin-1-ium-4-yl)pyridin-1-ium","Impurities":"The only impurity permitted in paraquat is free 4,4'-bipyridyl at a maximum level of 0.25%.","InChI":"InChI=1S/C12H14N2/c1-13-7-3-11(4-8-13)12-5-9-14(2)10-6-12/h3-10H,1-2H3/q+2","InChIKey":"INFDPOAKFNIJBF-UHFFFAOYSA-N","Interactions":"As a result of nuclear power plants accidents such as Chernobyl or Fukushima, some people were exposed to external and internal ionizing radiation (IR). Human brain is highly sensitive to IR during fetal and postnatal period when the molecular processes are not completely finished. Various studies have shown that exposure to low doses of IR causes a higher incidence of cognitive impairment. On the other hand, in industrialized countries, people are daily exposed to a number of toxicant pollutants. Exposure to environmental chemicals, such as paraquat (PQ), may potentiate the toxic effects induced by radiation on brain development. In this study, we evaluated the cognitive effects of concomitant exposure to low doses of internal radiation ((137)Cs) and PQ during neonatal brain development. At the postnatal day 10 (PND10), two groups of mice (C57BL/6J) were exposed to (137)Cs (4000 and 8000 Bq/kg) and/or PQ (7 mg/kg). To investigate the spontaneous behavior, learning, memory capacities and anxiety, behavioral tests were conducted in the offspring at two months of age. The results showed that cognitive functions were not significantly affected when (137)Cs or PQ were administered alone. However, alterations in the working memory and anxiety were detected in mice exposed to (137)Cs combined with PQ.","MeSH Headers":[{"Id":"M0015915","Link":"https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/M0015915.html","Name":"Paraquat","Ref":47},{"Id":"DescTree","Link":"https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html","Name":"MeSH Tree","Ref":49},{"Id":"PubMed from MeSH","Link":"https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html","Name":null,"Ref":64},{"Id":"M0010248","Link":"https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/M0010248.html","Name":"Herbicides","Ref":65}],"MeSH Pharmacological Classification":[{"Id":"M0010248","Link":"https://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/M0010248.html","Name":"Herbicide","Ref":65}],"Mechanism of Action":"The innate immune response is important in paraquat-induced acute lung injury, but the exact pathways involved are not elucidated. The objectives of this study were to determine the specific role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the process. Acute lung injury was induced by administering paraquat (PQ) intraperitoneally. NLRP3 inflammasome including NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 mRNA and protein expression in lung tissue and IL-1beta and IL-18 levels in BALF were detected at 4, 8, 24, and 72 hr after PQ administration in rats. Moreover, rats were pretreated with 10, 30, and 50 mg/kg NLRP3 inflammasome blocker glybenclamide, respectively, 1 h before PQ exposure. At 72 hr after PQ administration, lung histopathology changes, NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 protein expression, as well as secretion of cytokines including IL-1beta and IL-18 in BALF were investigated. The NLRP3 inflammasome including NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1 expression, and cytokines IL-1beta and IL-18 levels in PQ poisoning rats were significantly higher than that in the control group. NLRP3 inflammasome blocker glybenclamide pretreatment attenuated lung edema, inhibited the NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 activation, and reduced IL-1beta and IL-18 levels in BALF. In the in vitro experiments, IL-1beta and IL-18 secreted from RAW264.7 mouse macrophages treated with paraquat were attenuated by glybenclamide. In conclusion, paraquat can induce IL-1beta/IL-18 secretion via NLRP3-ASC-caspase-1 pathway, and the NLRP3 inflammasome is essential for paraquat-induced acute lung injury.","Melting Point":"Colorless crystals; mp: 300 °C (decomposes); very soluble in water, slightly soluble in lower alcohols. Insoluble in hydrocarbons. Hydrolyzed by alkali. Inactivated by inert clays and anionic surfactants; corrosive to metal; non-volatile /Paraquat dichloride/","Metabolism/Metabolites":"Paraquat was not metabolized by rats. After oral administration (gastric intubation) of single doses of paraquat dichloride or dimethylsulfate to Wistar strain male and female rats, most of the administered radioactivity (69-96%) was excreted in feces as unchanged paraquat. After subcutaneous injection of these compounds, unchanged paraquat appeared mostly in urine (73-96% of the administered radioactivity). Paraquat used in this study (radiochemical purity: 99-100%) was labeled with (14)C in the methyl groups. The doses used for gastric intubation ranged from 0.5 to 50 mg/kg and for subcutaneous injection, from 12.5 to 24 mg/kg. Most of the radioactivity was detected in feces within 2-3 days after dosing and in urine, within 1 day after dosing. Following oral administration of paraquat, up to 30% of the dose appeared in feces in a degraded form. This was due to the microbial degradation of paraquat in the gut. That microbial degradation of paraquat occurred in feces was shown in an in vitro experiment in which fecal homogenates were incubated with added paraquat for 24 hours. In that experiment, 40-50% of paraquat was destroyed. However, a similar experiment with sterilized fecal homogenates produced only minor loss (trace amounts) of added paraquat. /Paraquat dichloride/","MolecularFormula":"C\u003csub\u003e12\u003c/sub\u003eH\u003csub\u003e14\u003c/sub\u003eN\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e+2","MolecularWeight":"186.25 g/mol","Non-Human Toxicity Values":"LD50 Rat male oral 344 mg/kg /Paraquat dichloride/","Odor":"Odorless","Physical Description":"Yellow, odorless solid; [HSDB] Technical grade is a dark red solution; [CHEMINFO] Commercially available as an aqueous solution with surfactants; [ACGIH]","PubChemId":15939,"Records":{"UNII":{"Impurities":[]}},"RefChem":"6102","RefCount":3,"RefCur":"","References":[{"Name":"Wikipedia","Urls":[{"Link":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraquat","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]},{"Name":"Wikidata","Urls":[{"Link":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26841324","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]},{"Name":"PubChem","Urls":[{"Link":"https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/15939","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]},{"Name":"Common Chemistry","Urls":[{"Link":"https://commonchemistry.cas.org/detail?cas_rn=4685-14-7","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]},{"Name":"KEGG","Urls":[{"Link":"https://www.kegg.jp/entry/C14701","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]},{"Name":"UNII","Urls":[{"Link":"https://gsrs.ncats.nih.gov/ginas/app/ui/substances/PLG39H7695","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]},{"Name":"EPA DSSTox","Urls":[{"Link":"https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/details/DTXSID3034799","Name":"Paraquat","Sub":false}]}],"Refs":["National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 15939, Paraquat. Accessed April 29, 2026. \u003ca href=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/15939\u003ehttps://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/15939\u003c/a\u003e","U.S. Food and Drug Administration; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Paraquat. UNII: PLG39H7695. Global Substance Registration System. Accessed April 29, 2026. \u003ca href=https://gsrs.ncats.nih.gov/ginas/app/beta/substances/PLG39H7695\u003ehttps://gsrs.ncats.nih.gov/ginas/app/beta/substances/PLG39H7695\u003c/a\u003e"],"Reported Fatal Dose":"Toxic concentration in blood is 0.85 mg% (8.5 ug/mL); lethal concentration in blood is 3.5 mg% (35.0 ug/mL).","SMILES":"C[N+]1=CC=C(C=C1)C2=CC=[N+](C=C2)C","SaltData":[],"Salts":[],"Solubility":"In water, 6.2X10+5 mg/L at 20 °C","Stability/Shelf Life":"Paraquat is stable in acid or neutral solutions, but is readily hydrolyzed by alkali.","StereoisomerData":[],"Stereoisomers":[],"Structure":"\u003csvg xmlns=\"http://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" preserveAspectRatio=\"none\" style=\"display:block\" viewBox=\"0 0 28.478 108.441\"\u003e\u003crect width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" fill=\"#fff\"/\u003e\u003cdesc\u003eGenerated by the Chemistry Development Kit (http://github.com/cdk)\u003c/desc\u003e\u003cg fill=\"#3050f8\" stroke=\"#000\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\".7\"\u003e\u003cpath fill=\"#fff\" stroke=\"none\" d=\"M0 0h29v109H0z\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"mol\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M14.239 107.531V96.149\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"bond\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"m19.886 89.041 7.553-4.357M18.668 86.929l6.333-3.654\"/\u003e\u003cpath stroke=\"#3050f8\" d=\"m19.886 89.041 3.777-2.179M19.886 89.041l3.777-2.179M18.668 86.929l3.166-1.827\" class=\"hi\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M27.439 84.684V69.452\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"bond\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"m27.439 69.452-13.2-7.616M25.001 70.86l-10.762-6.209\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M14.239 61.836 1.038 69.452\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"bond\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M1.038 69.452v15.232M3.477 70.86v12.415\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M11.085 90.48 1.038 84.684M14.239 61.836V46.605\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"bond\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"m1.038 38.989 13.201 7.616M3.477 37.581l10.762 6.209\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M1.038 38.989V23.757\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"bond\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M11.085 17.961 1.038 23.757M12.304 20.073l-8.827 5.093\"/\u003e\u003cpath stroke=\"#3050f8\" d=\"m11.085 17.961-5.023 2.898M12.304 20.073 7.891 22.62\" class=\"hi\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath d=\"m17.928 18.27 9.511 5.487\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg class=\"bond\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M27.439 38.989V23.757M25.001 37.581V25.166\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath d=\"m14.239 46.605 13.2-7.616M14.239 11.925V.91\" class=\"bond\"/\u003e\u003cg stroke=\"none\" class=\"atom\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M16.18 94.749h-.721l-2.619-4.066h-.03l.03.595q.024.358.024.733v2.738h-.566V89.85h.714l2.608 4.054h.03l-.018-.328-.024-.476q-.006-.262-.006-.482V89.85h.578zM17.856 89.705h.818v.293h-.818v.846h-.297v-.846h-.818v-.293h.818v-.85h.297z\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cg stroke=\"none\" class=\"atom\"\u003e\u003cpath d=\"M16.18 18.591h-.721l-2.619-4.066h-.03l.03.596q.024.357.024.732v2.738h-.566v-4.899h.714l2.608 4.054h.03l-.018-.327-.024-.477q-.006-.262-.006-.482v-2.768h.578zM17.856 13.547h.818v.293h-.818v.847h-.297v-.847h-.818v-.293h.818v-.85h.297z\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003cpath stroke=\"#3050f8\" d=\"M14.239 96.149v5.691M14.239 96.149v5.691M11.085 90.48l-5.023-2.898M11.085 90.48l-5.023-2.898M17.928 18.27l4.756 2.744M17.928 18.27l4.756 2.744M14.239 11.925V6.418M14.239 11.925V6.418\" class=\"hi\"/\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003c/g\u003e\u003c/svg\u003e","Subjective Effects":null,"Title":"Paraquat","Toxicity Data":"LD50: 150 mg/kg (Oral, Rat) (L1008)\nLD50: \u003e480 mg/kg (Dermal, Rabbit) (L1008)","Treatment":"In case of  oral exposure, administer charcoal as a slurry. Consider after ingestion of a potentially life-threatening amount of poison if it can be performed soon after ingestion. The treatment is symptomatic and supportive. In case of eye exposure, irrigate exposed eyes with copious amounts of room temperature water for at least 15 minutes. In case of dermal exposure, remove contaminated clothing and jewellery. Wash the skin, including hair and nails, vigorously; do repeated soap washings. Discard contaminated clothing. (T36)","UNII":"PLG39H7695","Wikidata":"Q26841324","Wikipedia":"Paraquat","XLogP":1.7}