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Size-Dependent Uptake and Depuration of Nanoplastics in Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Distinct Intestinal Impacts
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Researchers tracked how tilapia fish absorb and eliminate nanoplastics of two sizes (86 and 185 nanometers) and found that both accumulated most heavily in the intestine. Smaller nanoplastics caused more physical damage to the intestinal lining, while larger ones disrupted the gut microbiome more severely. Since tilapia is widely consumed worldwide, the finding that nanoplastics build up in fish tissue and damage their guts raises concerns about the safety of farmed fish as food.
Nanoplastics (NPs, <1 μm) are of great concern worldwide because of their high potential risk toward organisms in aquatic systems, while very little work has been focused on their tissue-specific toxicokinetics due to the limitations of NP quantification for such a purpose. In this study, NPs with two different sizes (86 and 185 nm) were doped with palladium (Pd) to accurately determine the uptake and depuration kinetics in various tissues (intestine, stomach, liver, gill, and muscle) of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in water, and subsequently, the corresponding toxic effects in the intestine were explored. Our results revealed uptake and depuration constants of 2.70-378 L kg-1 day-1 and 0.138-0.407 day-1 for NPs in tilapia for the first time, and the NPs in tissues were found to be highly dependent on the particle size. The intestine exhibited the greatest relative accumulation of both sizes of NPs; the smaller NPs caused more severe damage than the larger NPs to the intestinal mucosal layer, while the larger NPs induced a greater impact on microbiota composition. The findings of this work explicitly indicate the size-dependent toxicokinetics and intestinal toxicity pathways of NPs, providing new insights into the ecological effects of NPs on aquatic organisms.
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Understanding the links between micro/nanoplastics-induced gut microbes dysbiosis and potential diseases in fish: A review
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This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in fish intestines and disrupt their gut bacteria, potentially leading to inflammation, immune problems, and metabolic diseases. The disrupted gut microbiome can weaken the intestinal barrier, allowing harmful substances to enter the fish's body. Since fish are a major protein source for billions of people, understanding how microplastics damage fish gut health is important for assessing risks to human food safety.
Deleterious Effects of Polypropylene Microplastic Ingestion in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
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Researchers fed Nile tilapia daily doses of polypropylene microplastics for 30 days and observed significant health effects including changes in blood cell counts, altered gut bacteria, and tissue damage to the intestines and liver. The higher dose group showed more pronounced effects, including elevated inflammatory markers and signs of oxidative stress. The study provides evidence that chronic ingestion of microplastics commonly found in aquatic environments can cause meaningful harm to a widely consumed fish species.
Size- and Time-Dependent Impacts of Polyvinyl Chloride Microplastics on Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.): Intestinal Tolerance, Hepatic Injury, and Intestinal Microbiota Dysbiosis
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Researchers fed turbot micrometer-sized and nano-sized PVC microplastics for up to nine weeks, finding that while the fish intestine showed tolerance to both particle types, liver damage was clearly size-dependent and cumulative over time, with nanoplastics causing stronger inflammatory, apoptotic, and oxidative responses, and long-term nanoplastic exposure inducing pronounced gut microbiota dysbiosis.
Size-dependent adverse effects of microplastics on intestinal microbiota and metabolic homeostasis in the marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma)
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Researchers exposed marine medaka fish to different sizes of polystyrene microplastics for 60 days and found that particle size was a key factor in determining health effects. Larger particles (200 micrometers) caused weight gain and fat accumulation, while smaller particles (2 and 10 micrometers) led to liver inflammation and damage. The study also revealed that microplastics disrupted the balance of gut bacteria, particularly with larger particle exposure.
How do fish consume microplastics? An experimental study on accumulation pattern using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)
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Researchers fed Nile tilapia in controlled lab conditions to study how microplastics accumulate in fish organs. They found that most microplastics came from the fish feed rather than from particles floating in the water, and that the digestive tract accumulated the most particles while muscles, the part humans typically eat, contained the smallest sizes. Twelve different polymer types were identified across the fish tissues.
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