Chlorothalonil is a broad-spectrum organochlorine fungicide that forms adducts with glutathione and cysteine residues on enzymes leading to GST depletion and enzyme deactivation, respectively.¹In vitro, it inhibits the growth ofC. albicansandC. orbicularefungi,S. aureusandB. cereusGram-positive bacteria, andE. coliandP. aeruginosaGram-negative bacteria (MICs = 0.7, 5, 1.3, 0.7, 0.5, and 1.7 µg/ml, respectively).^2,3In vivo, chlorothalonil (100 µg/ml) completely inhibits the growth ofP. infestans, the tomato late blight pathogen, on tomato plants.⁴It is toxic to aquatic organisms, including species of fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and algae with tenth percentile of toxicity values of 25.23, 40.59, 0.69, and 3.94 µg/L, respectively, as well as to other aquatic invertebrates.⁵Chlorothalonil is carcinogenic in animal models and induces neoplasms in the forestomach and kidneys of rats when administered at a dose of 3.8 mg/kg per day, but it is not genotoxic.⁶Formulations containing chlorothalonil have been used as fungicides in agriculture.

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