Aminomethylphosphonic acid

Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) is a weak organic acid with a phosphonic acid group. It is one of the primary degradation products of the herbicide glyphosate. AMPA has low toxicity which is comparable to that of glyphosate and it is therefore considered to be of no greater toxicological concern than glyphosate itself. AMPA has the potential to be broken down further by manganese oxide in laboratory conditions, however in soil maganese oxide is usually only present in trace amounts. Microbial degradation of AMPA is the more likely degradation pathway, where it degrades into phosphoric acid and ultimately to carbon dioxide and inorganic phosphate.