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Microplastic: A potential threat to human and animal health by interfering with the intestinal barrier function and changing the intestinal microenvironment
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This review summarizes current research on how microplastics disrupt the gut environment in both animals and humans, focusing on damage to the intestinal barrier. Studies show that microplastic exposure can cause oxidative damage, inflammation, destruction of the gut lining, thinning of the protective mucus layer, and disruption of beneficial gut bacteria. While direct human evidence is still limited, the growing body of animal research suggests that microplastics could pose a meaningful threat to intestinal health.
Plastics are widely used in many fields due to their stable physical and chemical properties, and their global production and usage increase significantly every year, which leads to the accumulation of microplastics in the entire ecosystem. Numerous studies have shown that microplastics (MPs) have harmful effects on living organisms. This review aims to provide a comprehensive conclusion of the current knowledge of the impacts of MPs on the stability of the gut microenvironment, especially on the gut barrier. Studies showed that exposure to MPs could cause oxidative damage and inflammation in the gut, as well as the destruction of the gut epithelium, reduction of the mucus layer, microbial disorders, and immune cell toxicity. Although there are few reports directly related to humans, we hoped that this review could bring together more and more evidence that exposure to MPs results in disturbances of the intestinal microenvironment. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate their threats to human health further.
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This review summarizes research on how micro- and nanoplastics affect the gut, finding that they can damage the intestinal lining, trigger immune responses, and disrupt the balance of beneficial gut bacteria in both cell studies and animal models. Since humans are primarily exposed to microplastics through food and food packaging, understanding these gut effects is essential for assessing the true health risks of plastic pollution.
Microplastics disrupt intestinal physiology: From microbiota composition to intestinal barrier integrity
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This review pulls together existing research on how the tiny plastic particles we swallow through food and water may mess with our gut health. The evidence suggests microplastics can shift our gut bacteria toward less beneficial types while reducing helpful bacteria that support digestion, and this may weaken the gut's protective lining—potentially allowing harmful substances to pass into the body more easily. While more research is needed to fully understand the risks, this adds to growing concerns about how everyday plastic exposure might affect our long-term health.
Microplastic Toxicity and Intestinal Homeostasis: Insights from Microbiome and Gut Barrier Dysfunction
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This review pulls together animal, lab, and human studies suggesting that microplastics we eat, drink, and breathe can disrupt the balance of good and bad bacteria in our gut, weaken the gut's protective lining, and trigger inflammation—effects that may ripple out to metabolism, hormones, and even brain function. While most of this evidence comes from animal and lab studies using higher doses than humans typically encounter, it's an early warning sign that everyday plastic exposure could quietly affect long-term gut health, and researchers say we need bigger, more consistent human studies to know how worried to be.
Impacts of microplastics on gut health: Current status and future directions
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This systematic review found consistent evidence across mouse, fish, and earthworm models that microplastics disrupt gut microbiota composition, impair intestinal barrier integrity, and trigger gastrointestinal inflammation. The correlation between microplastic exposure and gut health deterioration was statistically significant across all animal models examined.
Potential effects of MPs and their co-pollutants on human intestinal tract
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This review examines how microplastics and their co-pollutants enter and damage the human intestinal tract, summarizing evidence for microplastic-induced gut barrier disruption, microbiota alteration, and systemic translocation to other organs.
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