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What was Agent Orange?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

February 21, 2003

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Auxin, chemically known as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), is a plant hormone first discovered in 1926 by Frits W. Went, a plant physiologist. Manufactured from the amino acid, tryptophan, this hormone is produced in the leaf primordia (tissues that become leaves) and young leaves just below the actively growing tips (apical buds) of branches. Auxin moves

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Agent Orange, as well as Agents Purple, Green, Pink, White, and Blue were herbicides. Used in Vietnam as defoliants, the names refer to the color-coding on the 55-gallon drums. Vietnam Reflections Framed Art Print by  Lee Teter Buy Framed Art Print at AllPosters.com

cell to cell down through the plant.

Auxin suppresses bud development; when the growing tip is pinched-out auxin production ceases, side buds begin to grow, and plants become bushy. Auxin is destroyed by sunlight; when plants face the same direction in a window auxin causes the cells on the shaded side to elongate and the plant curves toward the light. Auxin stimulates roots to form on tissues like stems and leaves, but applied to already existing roots causes them to stop growing. Minute amounts of auxin affect plants drastically; massive amounts are fatal.

Science quickly discovered that auxin would make a great herbicide. The only problem was that plants produce very little auxin and it breaks down rapidly. In 1941, the first artificial auxins, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4,5-T) were patented—inexpensive, effective weed-killers.

Agent Orange, as well as Agents Purple, Green, Pink, White, and Blue were herbicides. Agent Orange was a mix of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. Used in Vietnam as defoliants, the names refer to the color-coding on the 55-gallon drums. The herbicides were mixed with kerosene or diesel fuel and sprayed from aircraft.

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TCDD "continues to generate concern because of its widespread distribution as an environmental contaminant, its persistence within the food chain, and its toxic potency." Women Rowing to the Market on the Mekong Delta, Vietnam Photographic Print by  John Banagan Buy Photographic Print at AllPosters.com

Leaves wilted rapidly, dried, and dropped from plants. Neither the herbicides nor the fuel should be in contact with skin, eyes, or mucosal membranes.

But the herbicide 2,4,5-T had a problem. According to the Merck Index (11^th ed.,1989), 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo[b,e][1,4]dioxin (TCDD or dioxin) is a "Highly toxic and teratogenic (causes birth defects) contaminant" of 2,4,5-T. The herbicide is no longer manufactured or used in the U.S., but its contaminant TCDD "continues to generate concern because of its widespread distribution as an environmental contaminant, its persistence within the food chain, and its toxic potency." (Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University Medical Center, 1999)

The Royal Society of Chemistry website has diagrams of the herbicides, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, and more information about these chemicals. To learn more, click on the link:

http://www.chemsoc.org/exemplarchem/entries/jhardy/glossary.htm

The Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Stanford University Medical Center has more information about TCDD, the contaminant of 2,4,5-T. To learn more about this accumulative toxin, click on the link:

http://www.stanford.edu/group/whitlock/dioxin.html

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Suggested Reading:

What is Napalm? Plants that Changed History - October 8, 2002
How did the rubber tree change war? Plants that Changed History - September 24, 2002
Why was rubber a military priority? Plants that Changed History - October 1, 2002
What is Harry Lauder's walking stick? What's in a Name? - March 11, 2005
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