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Impact of micro- and nanoplastics on gastrointestinal diseases: Recent advances
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This review summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics can harm the digestive system by causing oxidative stress, inflammation, cell death, and disruption of gut bacteria. These connected pathways can damage the intestinal lining and may contribute to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. The findings highlight the importance of understanding how everyday plastic exposure through food and water could affect gut health over time.
Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are ubiquitous contaminants increasingly recognized for their potential to adversely affect gastrointestinal (GI) health. This review provides a comprehensive overview regarding the impact of MNPs exposure on GI diseases, especially their toxicological mechanisms, such as oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, gut microbiota dysbiosis, and intestinal barrier dysfunction. Excessive reactive oxygen species production and persistent GI inflammation triggered by MNPs exposure drive epithelial cell apoptosis and compromise the intestinal barrier. Meanwhile, MNPs-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis further exacerbate intestinal inflammation and barrier dysfunction. Through these interconnected pathways, chronic MNPs exposure may be associated with the occurrence and progression of GI diseases, including gastritis, gastric cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal cancer. However, there are very limited human evidence, and the long-term impacts of low-dose, chronic MNPs exposure have not been sufficiently explored. Future research should address these uncertainties through longitudinal epidemiological studies, advanced experimental models, and standardized MNPs detection methods, to refine risk assessment and guide evidence-based policies that safeguard human health.
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Orally Ingested Micro- and Nano-Plastics: A Hidden Driver of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer.
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This review synthesizes evidence linking ingested micro- and nano-plastics to inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer risk, proposing that microplastics act as a hidden driver of gut inflammation in vulnerable populations. The authors argue that intestinal accumulation of microplastics triggers immune and oxidative stress pathways that contribute to disease progression.
Dietary Intake of Micro- and Nanoplastics: Potential Adverse GI Effects on Microbiome, Inflammation, and Neoplasia
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Tiny plastic particles from our food and packaging are showing up in human stool and even colon tissue, and this review pulls together research suggesting they may disrupt gut bacteria, weaken the gut's protective lining, and trigger inflammation—effects that have been loosely linked to conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. It's important to note this is a summary of existing lab and early clinical studies, not new proof that plastics cause these diseases in people—scientists say we still need larger human studies to confirm the connection and figure out if cutting plastic exposure actually improves gut health.
A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Potential Gastrointestinal Adverse Effects From Micro(nano) Plastic Exposure
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This narrative review synthesizes evidence on gastrointestinal adverse effects of micro- and nanoplastic exposure, examining how these particles interact with gut microbiota, mucosal barriers, and immune tissue to contribute to inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, and colorectal cancer risk.
Microplastics and Nanoplastics in the Gastrointestinal System: Mechanisms, Risks, and Therapeutic Opportunities
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Researchers synthesized evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and compromise intestinal integrity by disrupting tight junction proteins and generating reactive oxygen species, linking these mechanisms to inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, and gut microbiome dysbiosis, while also reviewing emerging therapeutic strategies including probiotic approaches, enzyme-mediated plastic degradation, and polysaccharide-based binding agents.
The detrimental effects of micro-and nano-plastics on digestive system: An overview of oxidative stress-related adverse outcome pathway
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This review maps out how micro and nanoplastics damage the digestive system, identifying oxidative stress as the initial trigger that leads to inflammation, cell death, disrupted gut bacteria, and metabolic disorders. The authors use an adverse outcome pathway framework to connect molecular-level damage to broader health consequences. The findings suggest that ongoing microplastic exposure through food and water could contribute to digestive health problems.
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