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Bioaccumulation and dietary bioaccessibility of microplastics composition and cocontaminants in Mediterranean mussels
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Researchers studied how Mediterranean mussels accumulate microplastics and co-contaminants like PFAS ("forever chemicals"), then tested how much transfers to humans during digestion. While mussels accumulated fewer PFAS when microplastics were present, the human digestion simulation showed that microplastics actually increased how much PFAS the body could absorb. This means eating microplastic-contaminated seafood could increase human exposure to harmful chemicals beyond what the contamination levels alone would suggest.
Microplastics (MPLs) are contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) ubiquitous in aquatic environments, which can be bioaccumulated along the food chain. In this study, the accumulation of polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics (MPLs) of sizes below 63 μm was assessed in Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis spp). Moreover, the potential of mussels to uptake and bioaccumulate other organic contaminants, such as triclosan (TCS) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), was evaluated with and without the presence of MPLs. Then, the modulation of MPLs in the human bioaccessibility of co-contaminants was assessed by in vitro assays that simulated the human digestion process. Exposure experiments were carried out in 15 L marine microcosms. The bioaccumulation and bioaccessibility of PE, PS, PET, and co-contaminants were assessed by means of liquid chromatography -size exclusion chromatography-coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC(SEC)-HRMS). Our outcomes confirm that MPL bioaccumulation in filter-feeding organisms is a function of MPL chemical composition and particle sizes. Finally, despite the lower accumulation and bioaccumulation of PFASs in the presence of MPLs, the bioaccessibility assays revealed that PFASs bioaccessibility was favoured in the presence of MPLs. Since part of the bioaccumulated PFASs are adsorbed onto MPL surfaces by hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions, these interactions easily change with the pH during digestion, and the PFASs bioaccessibility increases.
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Scientists tested how mussels—a popular seafood—absorb and get rid of tiny polyester fibers (like those shed from synthetic clothing) at different exposure levels, and found that higher exposure didn't necessarily mean more fibers stayed trapped in the mussels' bodies. Even more notably, the "clean" mussels used as a comparison group already had microplastic fibers in them before the experiment even started, showing just how widespread this contamination already is. This matters because it suggests eating mussels and other shellfish is a likely route for microplastics to enter our diets, even from seafood we assume is uncontaminated.
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