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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Human Health Effects Sign in to save

Eco-toxicity of nano-plastics and its implication on human metabolism: Current and future perspective

The Science of The Total Environment 2022 61 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Shoumi Haldar, Yuvashree Muralidaran, Diana Míguez, Sikandar I. Mulla, Prabhakar Mishra

Summary

This review examines the sources, bioaccumulation pathways, and potential health effects of nanoplastics on human metabolism. Researchers found that nanoplastics can enter the body primarily through ingestion of contaminated food and packaging, and evidence suggests they may interfere with metabolic pathways and contribute to organ dysfunction. The study highlights that significant knowledge gaps remain in assessing the human health risks of nanoplastic exposure.

Body Systems

In the current scenario, plastic pollution has become one of the serious environmental hazard problems due to its improper handling and insufficiency in degradation. Nanoplastics (NPs) are formed when plastic fragments are subjected to ultraviolet radiation, natural weathering, and biodegradation. This review paper focuses on the source of origin, bioaccumulation, potential nanoplastics toxicity impact towards environment and human system and management strategies towards plastic pollution. Moreover, this study demonstrates that nanoplastics interfere with metabolic pathways and cause organ dysfunction. A wide range of studies have documented the alteration of organism physiology and behavior, caused by NPs exposure. A major source of NPs exposure is via ingestion because these plastics are found in foods or food packaging, however, they can also enter the human body via inhalation but in a less well-defined form. In recent literature, the studies demonstrate the mechanisms for NP uptake, affecting factors that have been discussed followed by cytotoxic mechanisms of NPs. However, study on challenges regarding NPs toxicity for the risk assessment of human health is limited. It is important to perform and focus more on the possible impacts of NPs on human health to identify the key challenges and explore the potential impacts of their environmental accumulation and its toxicity impacts.

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