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Untargeted Metabolomics Uncovers Food Safety Risks: Polystyrene Nanoplastics Induce Metabolic Disorders in Chicken Liver
Summary
Researchers exposed chickens to polystyrene nanoplastics through feed for 120 days and used metabolomics to assess the impact on liver health. They found significant liver damage, including increased lipid accumulation and elevated liver enzyme levels, along with disruption of 193 metabolites primarily related to lipid and amino acid metabolism. The study raises food safety concerns, suggesting that nanoplastic contamination in poultry feed could affect the quality and safety of poultry products entering the food chain.
Polystyrene nanoplastics (NPs) threaten agricultural ecosystems and the food chain; however, their hepatotoxicity in chickens, a key poultry species, remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of chronic NP exposure on hepatic metabolism to evaluate food safety risks in poultry products. Chickens were orally exposed to 100 nm polystyrene NPs via feed for 120 days. Histopathological evaluation, serum biochemical analysis revealed hepatotoxicity in NP-exposed poultry, characterized by histopathological liver injury, elevated lipid droplet accumulation, significantly increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, and elevated triglyceride (TG) levels (p < 0.05). Untargeted LC-MS/MS Metabolomics profiling identified 193 differentially abundant metabolites-predominantly organic acids and lipids-with L-leucine and NADH emerging as pivotal metabolic hubs. A KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated significant enrichment in purine metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation, while a gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) confirmed the suppression of ABC transporters. Notably, the key biomarkers 9-cis-retinal and phenylalanyl phenylalanine were significantly altered, reflecting metabolic disturbances linked to NPs exposure. Overall, this study characterized exposure-associated metabolic signatures and established NP-induced hepatic injury phenotypes in poultry production systems.