Co-exposure to positively charged polystyrene microplastics and butylparaben exacerbates intestinal injury and behavioral abnormalities in zebrafish

Microplastics (MPs) and butylparaben (BuP) are common emerging contaminants in aquatic environments. Both can enter water bodies via domestic wastewater and wastewater treatment plant discharges, and thus the potential ecological risks posed by their combined contamination have attracted increasing attention. However, the combined toxic effects of polystyrene MPs with different surface charges and BuP on aquatic organisms remain unclear. This study used zebrafish as a model to investigate the comprehensive toxicity of single and combined exposures to negatively charged pristine polystyrene microplastics (PS) and positively charged aminated polystyrene microplastics (PS-NH) with BuP. The results showed that BuP accumulated specifically in zebrafish tissues in the following order: intestine > liver > brain > muscle. The toxic effects were surface-charge-dependent: compared to PS, positively charged PS-NH alone induced more severe intestinal oxidative stress and tissue damage. When co-exposed with BuP, the intestinal damage was further exacerbated. Behaviorally, combined exposure resulted in more severe inhibition of voluntary movement and exploratory behavior, anxiety-like behavior, and learning and memory impairments. Furthermore, exposure significantly disrupted intestinal microbiota homeostasis, leading to decreased microbial diversity and significant changes in the relative abundance of phyla such as Pseudomonadota, Fusobacteriota, and Actinobacteria. This study reveals that positively charged microplastics significantly exacerbate damage to host intestinal health and behavior, as well as the environmental health risks from joint exposure, providing crucial scientific evidence for the ecological risk assessment of complex pollutants.