Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Environmental microplastics exposure decreases antioxidant ability, perturbs gut microbial homeostasis and metabolism in chicken

Researchers studied the effects of microplastic exposure on chickens and found that it decreased growth performance and antioxidant capacity while causing damage to the intestine, liver, kidney, and spleen. The study also revealed significant changes in gut microbiota composition, including decreased diversity and shifts in taxonomic makeup, suggesting microplastics disrupt gut microbial homeostasis in poultry.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: a potential threat to gut microbiota and antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens

Researchers investigated the effects of microplastic exposure on broiler chickens and found significant increases in liver enzyme and oxidative stress markers alongside decreased antioxidant capacity. The study also revealed substantial disruption to gut microbiota, with reduced diversity and altered microbial community structure affecting energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and other key functions.

2026 Frontiers in Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Environmental Microplastic Exposure Changes Gut Microbiota in Chickens

Researchers exposed chickens to environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics and found that their growth performance decreased significantly. The gut microbiota composition was also altered, with changes in the abundance of several bacterial groups important for digestion and health. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in poultry environments could affect both animal welfare and the broader food production chain.

2023 Animals 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics impair chicken growth through gut microbiota-induced hepatic fatty acid metabolism dysfunction

This study showed that polyethylene microplastics, especially those containing chemical additives called phthalates, significantly slowed chicken growth by disrupting liver fat metabolism and gut bacteria. The microplastics altered the balance of intestinal microbes, which in turn affected how the liver processed fats. Since chickens are a major human food source, these findings raise questions about how microplastic contamination in poultry feed could affect both animal welfare and food quality.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Quail Meat Under Threat: Hidden Microplastics Pose Risks to Public Health and Environment

Researchers analyzed tissues and organs of quails that had died naturally and found microplastics in the form of filaments, fragments, and films throughout the digestive system and edible meat. Polyethylene and polyvinyl stearate were the most commonly detected polymer types, with the highest concentrations found in intestinal contents. The presence of microplastics in breast and leg meat raises concerns about human dietary exposure through poultry consumption.

2024 Veterinary Journal of Kastamonu University 2 citations
Review Tier 2

The sources and impact of microplastic intake on livestock and poultry performance and meat products: a review

This review examined how microplastics affect livestock and poultry health, productivity, and the safety of meat products. Researchers found that while lab experiments show microplastics can cause oxidative stress and inflammation at high concentrations, it remains unclear whether typical environmental exposure levels affect animal welfare or productivity. Microplastics were detected in animal tissues at levels that raise potential consumer safety concerns, though current detection methods are prone to contamination.

2025 Animal Production Science 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in poultry: Sources, bioaccumulation and human health consequences

This review examines how microplastics enter and accumulate in poultry through contaminated feed, water, litter, and farm equipment. Researchers found that ingested microplastics can accumulate in birds' gastrointestinal tracts, livers, kidneys, and muscle tissues, disrupting metabolic, immune, and reproductive functions and potentially impairing growth and meat quality. The study highlights that contaminated poultry products may serve as a route of microplastic transmission to human consumers.

2026 Poultry Science
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics disrupted physical barriers, microbiota composition and immune responses in the cecum of developmental Japanese quails

Researchers fed Japanese quails environmentally relevant concentrations of polystyrene microplastics for five weeks and examined their gut health. They found that microplastics damaged the physical barriers of the cecum, disrupted the gut microbial community, and impaired immune responses. The study suggests that even low-level microplastic contamination in the environment could compromise gut health and immune function in birds.

2023 Journal of Environmental Sciences 25 citations
Article Tier 2

The ingestion of microplastics affects the diversity of the gut microbiome and testicular development in Japanese quail

This study examined how microplastic ingestion affects gut microbiome diversity and composition in an animal model, finding that microplastic exposure alters microbial community structure in ways that may impair digestive and immune function.

2024 Ecological Genetics and Genomics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Animal Health and Nutrition Year 2024, Volume: 21 Issue: 2, 72 - 77, 02.08.2024

This review examined the effects of microplastics on animal health and nutrition, summarizing experimental evidence across livestock, poultry, and aquaculture species and identifying pathways by which dietary plastic exposure affects growth and feed efficiency.

2024 Erciyes University - AVESIS
Article Tier 2

Harmful impacts of microplastic pollution on poultry and biodegradation techniques using microorganisms for consumer health protection: A review

This review examines how microplastic pollution affects poultry health and food safety, finding that microplastics have been detected in chicken meat from supermarkets and open markets. Evidence indicates that microplastics can damage vital organs in poultry, reduce egg production, and accumulate in edible tissues. The authors also review biodegradation techniques using microorganisms as a potential strategy for reducing microplastic contamination in the food supply.

2024 Poultry Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Animal Health and Nutrition

This review summarizes the current understanding of how microplastic ingestion affects animal health across multiple species including livestock, poultry, and aquatic organisms. Researchers found that microplastics can cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and disruption of gut function in animals, with smaller particles posing greater risks due to their ability to cross biological barriers. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in feed and water sources is an emerging concern for animal agriculture and nutrition.

2024 Erciyes Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of microplastics in typical poultry farms and the association of environment microplastics colonized-microbiota, waterfowl gut microbiota, and antibiotic resistance genes

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in poultry farm environments and in the intestines of farm-raised waterfowl for the first time. They found microplastics in soil, pond water, and bird guts, with the plastic surfaces hosting microbial communities that carried antibiotic resistance genes. This raises dual concerns: microplastics may both contaminate poultry meat that humans eat and help spread antibiotic-resistant bacteria through farming environments.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut dysbiosis: Nutritional causes and risk prevention in poultry, with reference to other animals

This review examines the causes and consequences of gut dysbiosis in poultry and other animals, identifying microplastics as one of several environmental pollutants that can disrupt gastrointestinal microbial communities. Researchers describe how reduced microbial diversity leads to inflammation, compromised gut barriers, and disorders affecting multiple organ systems. The study highlights that microplastics, along with heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants, contribute to the growing challenge of maintaining healthy gut microbiomes in animal populations.

2025 South African Journal of Animal Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastic intake via poultry products: Environmental toxicity and human health

This review examines how microplastics enter the human diet through poultry products like chicken meat and eggs. Microplastics from contaminated feed, water, and farm environments accumulate in poultry tissues and are then passed to consumers. The study highlights that this food chain transfer represents an underappreciated pathway of human exposure, with potential risks including inflammation, gut disruption, and accumulation of toxic chemicals carried by the plastic particles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastics Exposure Alters Gut Microbiota and Correlates with Egg Quality Parameters in Chickens

Researchers exposed chickens to 100 nm nanoplastics through their diet for 120 days and found that the particles accumulated in intestinal tissues, causing structural damage including villus atrophy and goblet cell depletion. The study also revealed significant gut microbiota disruption and correlations with reduced egg quality parameters, suggesting nanoplastic exposure may affect both poultry health and productivity.

2025 Animals 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Farmed Animals—A Review

This review summarizes research on microplastic contamination in farmed animals including fish, cattle, and poultry, finding that microplastics have been detected in their intestines, liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive organs. The particles disrupt gut bacteria, cause tissue damage, and carry toxic chemicals and pathogens. Since these animals are raised for human consumption, microplastics in livestock represent a direct pathway for plastic contamination to reach people through their diet.

2024 Microplastics 19 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on the chicken gut and liver: Based on transcriptomics and microbiomics

Researchers fed polystyrene nanoplastics to chickens for 21 days and found that the particles triggered inflammation and oxidative stress in the gut and liver, damaged the intestinal lining, and disrupted the gut microbiome — with some effects persisting even after exposure stopped. Because poultry is a major protein source for humans globally, these findings raise concerns about nanoplastic contamination in the food supply.

2026 Poultry Science
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Livestock Health: An Emerging Risk for Reproductive Efficiency

This review summarizes the growing evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics harm livestock reproductive systems through oxidative stress, hormone disruption, and organ damage. Farm animals are particularly important because contaminants in their bodies can transfer to humans through meat, milk, and eggs. The review warns that microplastic accumulation in livestock could create a hidden food safety risk through biological amplification up the food chain.

2023 Animals 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Dose-effect of polystyrene microplastics on digestive toxicity in chickens (Gallus gallus): Multi-omics reveals critical role of gut-liver axis

Researchers fed chickens different doses of polystyrene microplastics and used multi-omics analysis to study digestive system damage through the gut-liver axis. They found that microplastics disrupted gut barrier function, altered liver metabolism, and changed gut bacterial communities in a dose-dependent manner. The study provides detailed molecular evidence of how microplastics can damage the digestive health of poultry, which may have implications for food safety.

2022 Journal of Advanced Research 140 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic exposure induces muscle growth but reduces meat quality and muscle physiological function in chickens

Researchers found microplastic contamination in chicken muscle tissue from a commercial farm and showed that feeding chickens polystyrene microplastics caused the plastics to accumulate in their muscles over time. While the contaminated chickens grew larger muscles, their meat quality and muscle function decreased. This study is important because it demonstrates that microplastics can build up in poultry meat, meaning people may be consuming microplastics through chicken.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Animal exposure to microplastics and health effects: A review

Researchers reviewed how microplastic exposure affects animals across terrestrial and aquatic environments, finding that species suffer physical harm, chemical contamination from pollutants that stick to plastic surfaces, inflammation, and behavioral changes. Because microplastics accumulate up the food chain, the review warns that animals entering the human food supply may carry these particles into our bodies.

2024 Emerging contaminants 117 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Microplastic Particles on Gut Microbiota Composition and Health Status in Rabbit Livestock

Researchers fed female rabbits PVC microplastics at low and high doses and observed intestinal mucosa damage, microplastic particles embedded in the spleen, and elevated inflammatory markers. The exposed rabbits also showed increased estrogen levels suggesting early sexual maturation, along with disrupted gut microbiota composition. The study represents the first broad investigation of PVC microplastic effects in rabbits, highlighting potential health risks from contaminated animal feed.

2024 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and Nanoplastic-Mediated Pathophysiological Changes in Rodents, Rabbits, and Chickens: A Review

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastic exposure through food and water affects terrestrial mammals and farm animals, including rodents, rabbits, and chickens. Researchers found that these particles can breach the intestinal barrier, accumulate in organs, disrupt gut microbiomes, alter metabolism, and cause neurotoxicity in animal studies. The findings raise concerns about potential food safety implications and highlight the need for further research on foodborne microplastic toxicity.

2021 Journal of Food Protection 64 citations