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Evaluating phytotoxicity of HDPE and Nylon-6,6 microplastics on wild plants, Cynodon dactylon (L.) and Portulaca grandiflora: an initiative towards soil remediation
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Researchers tested HDPE and nylon-6,6 microplastics on two wild plant species using a simulated dump yard model, finding significant reductions in growth, chlorophyll, and biomass, with confocal microscopy confirming that plastic particles are absorbed into roots and transported to leaf tissues via xylem pathways.
Microplastic pollution has gained significant attention due to its environmental impacts. This study presents a simulated dump yard model to examine the toxic effects of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and nylon-6,6 microplastics on tropical wild plants: Cynodon dactylon (L.) and Portulaca grandiflora. We assessed morphological changes using confocal laser scanning microscopy, proline and phenolic contents, chlorophyll content, and biometrical features (root and shoot height, biomass output). Microplastic-treated samples demonstrated significant declines in all measurable parameters compared to controls. Confocal microscopy revealed microplastic absorption in plant leaf tissues and root structures via xylem transport. These results support a transfer mechanism from root to leaf sections via apoplast and symplast pathways, with microplastics entering plant cells through endocytosis and traversing cytoplasmic continuity via plasmodesmata. This study highlights significant knowledge gaps in microplastic-contaminated soil and provides insights for developing sustainable agroecosystem strategies to address microplastic pollution in terrestrial environments.
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This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence that microplastics alter soil physical structure, chemical properties including pH and nutrient cycling, and the communities of earthworms, collembolans, and microbes that maintain soil health, with cascading effects on plant growth and agricultural productivity. Because healthy soils underpin global food production, microplastic-driven degradation of soil ecosystems represents a long-term threat to food security and introduces a terrestrial route by which plastic contaminants accumulate in crops consumed by humans.
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This analysis examined how microplastics affect plant physiology in terrestrial ecosystems, including uptake through roots, translocation into edible tissues, disruption of photosynthesis, and alteration of soil microbial communities that plants depend on. Because many staple crops can absorb and accumulate microplastics from contaminated soil and irrigation water, agricultural microplastic pollution translates directly into human dietary exposure through fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Microplastic risk assessment and toxicity in plants: a review
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Researchers review how microplastics harm plants across multiple mechanisms — inhibiting growth, inducing oxidative stress, blocking nutrient and metal absorption, and disrupting plant-microbe interactions — with consequences for metabolic pathways, gene expression, and crop yields.
Restoration of Micro-/Nano plastics: Contaminated Soil by Phytoremediation
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Researchers reviewed phytoremediation as a technology for cleaning up soils contaminated with micro- and nanoplastics, examining its principles, applicability, and practical limitations. Understanding plant-based remediation strategies is essential for developing scalable, low-cost solutions to reverse the terrestrial plastic pollution that threatens soil health and food safety.
Exploring the Impacts of HDPE Microplastics on Growth and Physiological Behavior of Brassica juncea (Mustard Plant)
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Researchers demonstrated that HDPE microplastics reduce chlorophyll, phenolic, and proline content in mustard plants (Brassica juncea) and showed — for the first time — that microplastics translocate from roots to leaves via fluorescence and confocal microscopy. This evidence of root-to-shoot microplastic transfer in a food crop raises direct concerns about human dietary exposure through consuming contaminated vegetables grown in plastically polluted agricultural soils.
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