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Short Depuration of Oysters Intended for Human Consumption Is Effective at Reducing Exposure to Nanoplastics
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Researchers exposed oysters to palladium-doped polystyrene nanoplastics and tracked their uptake and clearance over time. They found that the digestive gland accumulated the most nanoplastics, but nearly complete clearance occurred after 30 days of depuration. The study suggests that a short post-harvest depuration period of 24 to 48 hours could potentially reduce nanoplastic content in oysters intended for human consumption by up to 75 percent.
Nanoplastics (NPs; <1 μm) have greater availability to marine organisms than microplastics (1-5000 μm). Understanding NP uptake and depuration in marine organisms intended for human consumption is imperative for food safety, but until now it has been limited due to analytical constraints. Oysters (Crassostrea gigas) were exposed to polystyrene NPs doped with palladium (Pd), allowing the measurements of their uptake into tissues by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) combined with electron microscopy. Oysters were exposed for 6 days (d) to "Smooth" or "Raspberry" NPs, followed by 30 d of depuration with the aim of assessing the NP concentration in C. gigas following exposure, inferring the accumulation and elimination rates, and understanding the clearance of Pd NPs during the depuration period. After 6 d, the most significant accumulation was found in the digestive gland (106.6 and 135.3 μg g-1 dw, for Smooth and Raspberry NPs, respectively) and showed the most evident depuration (elimination rate constant KSmooth = 2 d-1 and KRaspberry = 0.2 d-1). Almost complete depuration of the Raspberry NPs occurred after 30 d. While a post-harvesting depuration period of 24-48 h for oysters could potentially reduce the NP content by 75%, more research to validate these findings, including depuration studies of oysters from the field, is required to inform practices to reduce human exposure through consumption.
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Efficacy of microplastic depuration on two commercial oyster species from the west coast of Ireland
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A 96-hour depuration experiment with 50 individuals each of Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas) and European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) from Ireland showed that extended depuration significantly reduced microplastic concentrations in edible tissue — from 0.6 to 0.2 particles per gram in Pacific oysters and from 0.4 to 0.1 particles per gram in flat oysters. Notably, over half of the particles identified were natural fibers rather than synthetic plastics. The results suggest that lengthening standard commercial depuration times beyond 72 hours could meaningfully reduce microplastic levels in oysters sold for human consumption.
Accumulation and Depuration of Microplastics by Oysters Upon the Laboratory Conditions
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Researchers monitored microplastic accumulation and elimination in oysters over 30 days, finding that the digestive tract accumulated the highest concentrations (bioaccumulation factors increasing from ~10 to ~41 over 10 days), and that most particles were eliminated within 30 days of depuration.
An overview of microplastics in oysters: Analysis, hazards, and depuration
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This review summarized microplastic analysis methods, hazards, and depuration strategies in oysters, highlighting that microplastics serve as carriers for contaminants and that depuration periods can significantly reduce microplastic loads in oyster tissues.
Microplastics exposure in European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis: Evaluation of accumulation and depuration under controlled conditions and molecular assessment of a set of reference genes
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Researchers assessed microplastic exposure, accumulation, and depuration in European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis), a species of conservation and aquaculture interest. Oysters accumulated microplastics efficiently and required extended depuration periods to substantially reduce body burdens, with implications for food safety.
Microplastic Depuration in Two Commercially Farmed Oyster Species from the West Coast of Ireland
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Researchers assessed microplastic depuration efficacy in Pacific oysters (Magallana gigas) and European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) from Irish aquaculture over four depuration periods from 24 to 96 hours. MP concentrations in edible tissue were significantly reduced after 96-hour depuration in both species, with FTIR analysis revealing that over half of isolated fibers were of natural rather than synthetic origin.
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