Adjuvants or Coformulants are components intentionally added to the active ingredient in the formulation in order to improve the product, usually basic chemical compounds. They are different from the active ingredient and may have different functions: emulsifiers, thickeners, surfactants, defoamers, colourants, fillers, etc. They may be safe or hazardous to health or the environment.

They can be safe or hazardous to health or the environment.

For plant protection products The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) has developed a rather complex regulation ratified by the European Commission on co-formulants (1). European Regulation (EC) Nr 1907/2006 (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals [REACH]) established rules and reports on chemical safety for substances manufactured or imported in quantities exceeding 10 t/year.

The regulations can be consulted in the following link where the most significant studies on the subject can be found:

Coformulants studies

References____________________________________________________________________

(1) Dobe C, Bonifay S, Krass JD, McMillan C, Terry A, Wormuth M. REACH Specific Environmental Release Categories for Plant Protection Product Applications. Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2020 Jun;16(4):472-480. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4251.