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Accumulation, tissue distribution, and biochemical effects of polystyrene microplastics in the freshwater fish red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Environmental Pollution 2018 723 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 60 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Shanshan Zhang, Roger Mamitiana Razanajatovo, Jiannan Ding Jiannan Ding Jiannan Ding Wenbin Zhu, Shanshan Zhang, Jiannan Ding Jiannan Ding Jiannan Ding Jiannan Ding Hua Zou, Shanshan Zhang, Shanshan Zhang, Jiannan Ding Jiannan Ding Roger Mamitiana Razanajatovo, Jiannan Ding Roger Mamitiana Razanajatovo, Roger Mamitiana Razanajatovo, Shanshan Zhang, Hua Zou, Roger Mamitiana Razanajatovo, Hua Zou, Jiannan Ding Shanshan Zhang, Hua Zou, Hua Zou, Hua Zou, Hua Zou, Jiannan Ding Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Jiannan Ding Hua Zou, Wenbin Zhu, Hua Zou, Wenbin Zhu, Hua Zou, Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Jiannan Ding Hua Zou, Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Wenbin Zhu, Jiannan Ding

Summary

Researchers exposed freshwater tilapia to polystyrene microplastics at varying concentrations for two weeks and tracked where the particles accumulated in the body. The microplastics concentrated primarily in the gut and gills, but also reached the liver and brain, with accumulation increasing over time and at higher doses. The study found that the particles caused oxidative stress and altered enzyme activity in the fish, indicating that even short-term microplastic exposure can trigger measurable biological harm in freshwater species.

Polymers

Body Systems

Hepatic Nervous

Models

Fish other

Study Type Environmental

While the presence of microplastics (MPs) in marine environments has been detected worldwide, the importance of MPs pollution in freshwater environments has also been emphasized in recent years. However, the body of knowledge regarding the biological effects of MPs on freshwater organisms is still much more limited than on marine organisms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the accumulation and tissue distribution of MPs in the freshwater fish red tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), as well as the biochemical effects of MPs on O. niloticus. During 14 days of exposure to 0.1 μm polystyrene-MPs at concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 μg L, the MPs concentrations in various tissues of O. niloticus generally increased over time following the order gut > gills > liver ≈ brain. Moreover, the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the fish brain was inhibited by MPs exposure, with a maximum inhibition rate of 37.7%, suggesting the potential neurotoxicity of MPs to freshwater fish. The activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes [7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and 7-benzyloxy-4-trifluoromethyl-coumarin O-dibenzyloxylase (BFCOD)] in the fish liver exhibited clear temporal variabilities, with significant decreases followed by elevations compared to the control. The alterations of the EROD and BFCOD activities indicate the potential involvement of CYP enzymes for the metabolism of MPs. The activity of antioxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the liver was significantly induced throughout the exposure period, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content did not vary with MPs exposure, suggesting that the antioxidative enzymatic system in O. niloticus could prevent oxidative damage. These results highlight the ingestion and accumulation of MPs in different tissues of freshwater fish, which lead to perturbations in fish biological systems and should be considered in environmental risk assessment.

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