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Revealing the Risks: A Review on the Toxicity and Mechanisms of Biodegradable Microplastics in Terrestrial Mammals
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Researchers synthesized current evidence on how biodegradable microplastics—formed when bioplastics incompletely degrade in nature—affect mammalian health, finding toxicity across digestive, respiratory, nervous, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems driven primarily by oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation, while noting that most data come from high-dose laboratory exposures that may not reflect real-world conditions.
Biodegradable plastics (BPs) have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional plastics, yet their incomplete degradation in natural environments leads to the formation of biodegradable microplastics (BMPs), which raises potential risks to human health. This review synthesizes current knowledge on BMP-induced mammalian toxicity, emphasizing exposure routes, internal fate, toxicities, and related mechanisms. Specifically, BMPs enter organisms through ingestion, inhalation, dermal contact, and medical applications. And their distribution depends on physicochemical properties, particularly particle size, with smaller particles exhibiting greater bioavailability and organ accumulation. Following uptake, BMPs induce adverse effects in the digestive, respiratory, nervous, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems. These effects encompass direct pathological injury to key organs, as well as the induction of inflammatory responses. Mechanistically, BMPs trigger oxidative stress, causing mitochondrial dysfunction, calcium overload, and DNA damage that compromise physiological functions. However, most BMPs used in current research are laboratory-made and differ in properties in real environments. Furthermore, the research objectives are still limited to short-term, high-dose studies of single BMP types, leaving critical gaps regarding chronic effects, mixture interactions, and human health risks. Future studies should develop environmentally realistic exposure models, examine pollutant interactions, and combine longitudinal with epidemiological designs.
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Cellular and Systemic Effects of Micro- and Nanoplastics in Mammals—What We Know So Far
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This review summarized known cellular and systemic effects of micro- and nanoplastics in mammals, finding that while ingestion is common, knowledge of health impacts remains limited, with oxidative stress and inflammation as the most reported biological responses.
Microplastics and Health: A Review on Environmental Exposure, Toxicokinetics and Biological Effects
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Researchers synthesize mechanistic evidence from in vitro, in vivo, and biomonitoring studies published through 2026, finding that microplastics induce oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokine responses, and organ-specific toxicity across hepatic, renal, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems, while highlighting critical gaps in standardized characterization and long-term low-dose exposure data.
Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) and their potential toxicological outcomes: State of science, knowledge gaps and research needs
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This review summarizes what is known about the toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics in mammals, drawing from both cell studies and animal experiments. Evidence suggests these particles can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, gut disruption, and reproductive harm, with effects depending on particle size, shape, and chemical composition. However, most studies use uniform lab-made particles rather than the irregular plastics humans actually encounter, making real-world risk assessment challenging.
Toxicity of microplastics and associated chemicals: A comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge
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Researchers synthesize current evidence on microplastic toxicity, finding that MPs and their co-contaminants — including plasticizers, flame retardants, and heavy metals — induce oxidative stress, inflammation, endocrine disruption, and microbiome changes across organisms, while noting that inconsistent methods and limited chronic-exposure data remain key barriers to accurate human risk assessment.
Microplastics and Their Toxicological Impacts on Human Health: An Overview
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Researchers synthesize recent literature on microplastic contamination, covering sources, environmental distribution, detection methods, and mechanistic evidence linking MP exposure to oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial damage, and potential neurotoxic and carcinogenic effects across multiple human organ systems.
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