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Recent Progress in Intestinal Toxicity of Microplastics and Nanoplastics: Systematic Review of Preclinical Evidence
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This systematic review of animal studies from 2021 to 2024 found growing evidence that swallowed microplastics and nanoplastics can damage the gut. Effects include inflammation, weakened gut barriers, oxidative stress, and disrupted gut bacteria. These findings suggest that the plastic particles found in our food could pose a risk to digestive health, though more research with realistic exposure levels is needed.
The tremendous plastic production and poor post-use management are current and future sources of environmental and human contamination due to their degradation products: microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPLs). Methodological developments have allowed MNPLs to be detected in an increasing variety of human foods, as well as in stool and colonic mucosa. It was suggested early that the direct contact between MNPLs and intestinal tissues could represent a potential risk for human health. In order to assess this, over the last 3 years, numerous studies have evaluated the impact of MNPL ingestion on intestinal homeostasis in rodents. This comprehensive review reports the preclinical studies published between January 2021 and January 2024, and analyzes their contributions as well as their shortcomings. It shows that evidence is accumulating of the intestinal toxicity of spherical MNPLs, which lead to pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidative, barrier-disruptive and dysbiotic effects. However, the available literature has addressed only a minor part of the potential health issues of MNPLs. Many parameters contributing to MNPL toxicity need to be better taken into account in future studies. Particular attention should be paid to improve the representativeness of MNPLs, as well as to better consider the susceptibility factors of MNPL toxicity, generated especially by an underlying pathology or pathological imprinting.
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This systematic review provides the first comprehensive look at how microplastics and nanoplastics affect the human gut using laboratory models. The findings help explain how these tiny particles may damage the digestive tract lining and trigger inflammation, which is important for understanding the health risks of swallowing microplastics in food and water.
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This review summarizes research on how micro- and nanoplastics affect the gut, finding that they can damage the intestinal lining, trigger immune responses, and disrupt the balance of beneficial gut bacteria in both cell studies and animal models. Since humans are primarily exposed to microplastics through food and food packaging, understanding these gut effects is essential for assessing the true health risks of plastic pollution.
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This review assesses the gastrointestinal health risks of micro- and nanoplastics across multiple species, from aquatic organisms to mammals, examining how these particles interact with the digestive system. Researchers found that microplastics can cause gut inflammation, alter the microbiome, and potentially cross the intestinal barrier into other tissues. The study highlights that understanding effects across species can help predict potential risks to human digestive health.
Nano- and Microplastics and Gastrointestinal Toxicity
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Tiny plastic particles from packaging, water, and even the air we breathe are increasingly ending up in our bodies, and this review pulls together what scientists currently know about how that might affect our gut health. Early research suggests these particles could trigger inflammation, disrupt the healthy bacteria in our digestive system, and interfere with normal metabolism—but researchers stress that we still don't have enough solid data on real-world human exposure to know exactly how risky this is. The takeaway: microplastics in our gut are a legitimate health concern worth watching, but the science is still catching up to the scale of the problem.
Effect of microplastics and nanoplastics in gastrointestinal tract on gut health: A systematic review.
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This systematic review of 30 in vitro studies found that microplastics and nanoplastics cause size- and concentration-dependent damage to human gastrointestinal cells, including increased oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and apoptosis. Smaller particles consistently showed greater cellular uptake and biological effects, though chronic low-dose exposure generally produced minimal impacts.
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