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Preliminary Study on PCC-Chitosan’s Ability to Enhance Microplastic Excretion in Human Stools from Healthy Volunteers
Summary
In a crossover pilot study, 10 healthy volunteers consumed a standardised meal with or without a chitosan-based food supplement and had their stool tested for microplastics. The supplement significantly increased faecal MP excretion, suggesting chitosan may facilitate the physical removal of ingested microplastics from the gut.
Recent studies have indicated that microplastics (MPs) may accumulate in the human body, potentially posing health risks.This preliminary study aimed to investigate the effect of a food supplement (FS: 0.8 g of chitosan derived from Procambarus clarkii, PCC, PLASTIKDREN ) on thefecal excretion of MPs (20-500 m size) following ingestion of a standardized meal (SM).Ten healthy volunteers (non-smokers, non-drinkers, non-drug users) participated in a two-phase, crossover design conducted one week apart.In both phases, participants consumed an SM after overnight fasting, and fecal samples were collected the following morning (7-10 am).Phase 1 served as baseline (no PCC), while in Phase 2, PCC was administered immediately before the SM.Sixteen types of MPs were analyzed.A modest increase (5%)in fecal mass was observed after PCC intake.MP counts were 356 in the SM, 656 110 in Phase 1 feces, and 965 165 in Phase 2 feces.The excretion of nine MPs-PA, PAN, PAM, PE, PES, PET, PP, PS, and RA-was enhanced by PCC.These preliminary findings suggest that PCC promotes the fecal elimination of MPs.Further controlled studies are needed tovalidate these results and assess their potential relevance for dietary interventions.