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Impact of microplastics on the human digestive system: From basic to clinical
Summary
This review examines how microplastics affect the human digestive system, from the mouth to the intestines, finding that they can damage multiple organs along the way. Microplastics may cause harm directly through their own toxic effects or indirectly by carrying other toxins into the body and increasing how much the body absorbs them. With more people eating takeout food in plastic containers, the amount of microplastics entering the digestive tract is growing.
As a new type of pollutant, the harm caused by microplastics (MPs) to organisms has been the research focus. Recently, the proportion of MPs ingested through the digestive tract has gradually increased with the popularity of fast-food products, such as takeout. The damage to the digestive system has attracted increasing attention. We reviewed the literature regarding toxicity of MPs and observed that they have different effects on multiple organs of the digestive system. The mechanism may be related to the toxic effects of MPs themselves, interactions with various substances in the biological body, and participation in various signaling pathways to induce adverse reactions as a carrier of toxins to increase the time and amount of body absorption. Based on the toxicity mechanism of MPs, we propose specific suggestions to provide a theoretical reference for the government and relevant departments.
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