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Assessing toxicological risk of nanoplastics contaminants in food and feed from ingestion pathway to human diseases
Summary
This review examines how nanoplastics, which are tiny fragments smaller than 0.1 micrometers, enter the human food chain and may pose health risks. Evidence indicates that nanoplastics can cross biological membranes more easily than larger microplastics, potentially reaching organs and accumulating over time. The study highlights the need for better detection methods and risk assessments to understand the long-term health implications of nanoplastic ingestion through food and beverages.
The extensive use of plastic without an effective management system is linked to significant environmental pollution issues. The fragmentation of various types of plastic waste leads to the formation of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs). NPs, measuring less than 0.1 μm pose a latent danger to the human food chain caused by the ability to traverse biological membranes than MPs, potentially leading to various chronic diseases. The widespread distribution of NPs across diverse environmental matrices and their subsequent infiltration into food and feed chains precipitates various emerging health concerns. NPs contaminate food production systems and leach from plastic packaging, infiltrating organisms at various trophic levels. Seafood, processed foods, and drinking water serve as vectors for absorption and accumulation in human tissues. The pervasive contamination pathway poses substantial risks to human health through multiple exposure routes, primarily ingestion. It can lead to cytotoxicity, inflammation, genotoxicity, and apoptosis. This review summarizes the implications of NPs exposure that triggers various diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), kidney dysfunction, liver disease, heart problems, brain disorders, reproductive issues, and cancer. Currently, no established method exists to treat NPs that humans may have already ingested. Hence, it is urgent to mitigate the harmful effects of NPs through the development and implementation of innovative, efficient, and sustainable environmental decontamination strategies. This discussion highlights several advanced remediation techniques that can effectively reduce the toxicity of NPs in environmental systems, thus mitigating their associated risks.