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Plastic takeaway food containers may cause human intestinal damage in routine life usage: Microplastics formation and cytotoxic effect
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Plastic takeaway food containers released hundreds of thousands of microplastics per square centimeter when filled with hot water, with polystyrene containers releasing the most. Both the microplastic particles and the chemical substances leached from the containers damaged human intestinal cells in lab tests, reducing cell survival and disrupting energy metabolism. This suggests that everyday use of plastic food containers -- especially with hot food and drinks -- exposes people to potentially harmful levels of microplastics.
The microplastics and organic additives formed in routine use of plastic takeaway food containers may pose significant health risks. Thus, we collected plastic containers made of polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polylactic acid and simulated two thermal usages, including hot water (I) and microwave treatments (M). Nile Red fluorescence staining was developed to improve accurate counting of microplastics with the aid of TEM and DLS analysis. The quantity of MPs released from thermal treatments was determined ranging from 285.7 thousand items/cm to 681.5 thousand items/cm in containers loaded with hot water with the following order: IPS>IPP>IPET>IPLA, while microwave treatment showed lower values ranging from 171.9 thousand items/cm to 301.6 thousand items/cm. In vitro toxicity test using human intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells indicated decrease of cell viability in raw leachate, resuspended MPs and supernatants, which might further lead to cell membrane rupture, ROS production, and decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, the leachate inhibited the expression of key genes in the electron transport chain (ETC) process, disrupted energy metabolism. For the first time, we isolate the actually released microplastics and organic substances for in vitro toxicity testing, and demonstrate their potential impacts to human intestine. SYNOPSIS: Plastic take-out containers may release microplastics and organic substances during daily usage, both of which can cause individual and combined cytotoxic effects on human colon adenocarcinoma cells Caco-2.
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This study measured microplastics released from three types of plastic take-out food containers — polypropylene, polyethylene, and expanded polystyrene — when filled with hot water. Expanded polystyrene released the most particles by far (up to 2.8 million per liter), and over 96% of particles from all containers were smaller than 10 micrometers, small enough to be absorbed into the gut.
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