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A review on microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment: Their occurrence, exposure routes, toxic studies, and potential effects on human health
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This review summarizes what is known about how microplastics and nanoplastics enter the human body through food, air, and skin contact, and what they do once inside. Studies on cells and animals show these tiny particles can cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, inflammation, and harm to the immune, digestive, reproductive, and nervous systems. The research makes clear that microplastics are not just an environmental problem but a direct concern for human health.
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging environmental pollutants, having a major ecotoxicological concern to humans and many other biotas, especially aquatic animals. The physical and chemical compositions of MPs majorly determine their ecotoxicological risks. However, comprehensive knowledge about the exposure routes and toxic effects of MPs/NPs on animals and human health is not fully known. Here this review focuses on the potential exposure routes, human health impacts, and toxicity response of MPs/NPs on human health, through reviewing the literature on studies conducted in different in vitro and in vivo experiments on organisms, human cells, and the human experimental exposure models. The current literature review has highlighted ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contacts as major exposure routes of MPs/NPs. Further, oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, DNA damage, inflammation, immune response, neurotoxicity, metabolic disruption, and ultimately affecting digestive systems, immunology, respiratory systems, reproductive systems, and nervous systems, as serious health consequences.
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From environment to body: sources and health consequences of microplastics and nanoplastics in humans
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This review summarizes existing research on how tiny plastic particles called microplastics and nanoplastics enter the human body through food, water, air, and skin contact. Studies cited suggest these particles may build up in tissues and are linked to inflammation, immune problems, and other health issues, though long-term human health risks remain unclear.
Impact of microplastics and nanoplastics on human Health: Emerging evidence and future directions
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This review summarizes current evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics enter the human body through food, air, and skin contact, and the cellular damage they may cause. While microplastic pollution is a recognized environmental hazard, the authors note that definitive evidence linking plastic particle exposure to specific health outcomes in humans is still limited and more realistic exposure studies are needed.
Potential Health Impact of Microplastics: A Review of Environmental Distribution, Human Exposure, and Toxic Effects
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This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics are found throughout the environment and in human samples, entering the body through food, air, and skin contact. Lab studies in cells and animals show microplastics can cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, immune reactions, brain toxicity, and reproductive harm, and early human health data links microplastic exposure to several chronic diseases.
Human exposure to microplastics: A review on exposure routes and public health impacts
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This review examines how microplastics enter the human body through food, air, and skin contact and the health effects they can cause, including oxidative stress, inflammation, hormone disruption, and potential DNA damage. Despite growing evidence of harm, the exact routes plastics take through the body and the cellular mechanisms behind their effects are still not well understood, and there is an urgent need for standardized detection methods.
Mechanistic insight into potential toxic effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on human health
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This review summarizes how microplastics and nanoplastics enter the body through breathing, eating, and skin contact, then travel through the bloodstream to deposit in organs. Studies show they can cause oxidative stress, inflammation, immune dysfunction, genetic damage, developmental abnormalities, and potentially cancer, though most evidence comes from cell and animal studies rather than human research.
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