Papers

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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

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

The impact of polyethylene microplastics exposure on the, growth performance, reproductive performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbiota of quails

Researchers fed quails different levels of polyethylene microplastics and found that exposure harmed their growth, reproduction, and gut health. The microplastics reduced antioxidant defenses and disrupted the balance of beneficial bacteria in the birds' intestines. Since poultry is a major food source for people, microplastic contamination in farm animals raises concerns about indirect human exposure through the food chain.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 6 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

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

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

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

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

Co-exposure to Polyethylene Fiber and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium Alters Microbiome and Metabolome of in vitro Chicken Cecal Mesocosms

An in vitro study using chicken cecal bacteria found that co-exposure to polyethylene microplastic fibers and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium altered the gut microbiome composition and metabolite profiles compared to either exposure alone, lowering the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. The results suggest microplastics can modify how poultry gut bacteria interact with foodborne pathogens, with potential implications for food safety and human health through the food chain.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure to polyethylene fiber and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium alters microbiome and metabolome of in vitro chicken cecal mesocosms

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastic fibers interact with Salmonella bacteria in the gut environment of chickens using an in vitro model. They found that co-exposure altered the microbial community composition and metabolic activity in ways that could favor pathogen survival. The findings raise concerns that microplastic contamination in poultry feed could potentially increase the risk of Salmonella infections in flocks and, ultimately, in the human food supply.

2024 Applied and Environmental Microbiology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination in Commercial Poultry Feed and Edible Chicken Tissues: An Emerging Environmental Concer

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in commercial poultry feed and edible chicken tissues from farms near Rajshahi City, Bangladesh, finding microplastics in all samples tested. Feed samples contained an average of 18.7 microplastic particles per gram, while chicken meat averaged 0.95 particles per gram, with fibers being the dominant shape. The study raises concerns about the transfer of microplastics from feed to edible poultry tissues as a pathway for human dietary exposure.

2026 Journal of Chemistry and Environment
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in eggs impairs chick development by disrupting yolk sac function and intestinal homeostasis

Researchers detected microplastics in all commercial chicken eggs tested (average 17 μg/g), confirmed maternal transfer by finding polystyrene and polyethylene in all ovarian follicles, and showed that injecting polystyrene nanoplastics into yolk sacs disrupted yolk sac function and intestinal development in chicks.

2025 Food Chemistry
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

Chronic exposure to polyethylene terephthalate microplastics induces gut microbiota dysbiosis and disordered hepatic lipid metabolism in mice

Researchers found that mice exposed to PET microplastics (the type commonly found in plastic bottles) over 17 weeks developed liver damage, including fat buildup, oxidative stress, and cell death. The study revealed that the damage was driven by changes in gut bacteria that altered lipid metabolism, and when researchers depleted the gut bacteria, the liver damage was reduced. This suggests the gut microbiome plays a key role in how microplastics cause harm to internal organs.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Phthalates released from microplastics inhibit microbial metabolic activity and induce different effects on intestinal luminal and mucosal microbiota

Researchers used a simulated human gut model to show that intestinal microbiota accelerates the release of phthalate plasticizers from microplastics, and these released phthalates inhibit microbial metabolic activity and differentially affect luminal versus mucosal gut bacteria.

2022 Environmental Pollution 34 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

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

Effects of frying on microplastics load in fish and implications on health

Researchers investigated the effects of polyethylene microplastics on gut microbiota composition in mice fed a high-fat diet, finding that microplastic exposure altered microbial diversity and increased gut permeability. Co-exposure with a high-fat diet amplified metabolic disruption.

2022 Food Frontiers 9 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

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

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

Comparative Analysisof Metabolic Dysfunctions Associatedwith Pristine and Aged Polyethylene Microplastic Exposure via theLiver-Gut Axis in Mice

Researchers fed mice low doses of pristine and aged polyethylene microplastics for several weeks and analyzed changes in blood metabolites, liver proteins, and gut bacteria. Both forms caused lipid metabolism disruptions and reduced beneficial gut bacteria, with aged microplastics showing greater toxicity linked to changes in fatty acid processing enzymes.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on the microbiome and metabolism in larval zebrafish

Researchers exposed zebrafish embryos to polyethylene microplastics for seven days and found significant disruptions to their gut bacteria and metabolic function. The microplastics altered the balance of key bacterial groups in the gut, increasing potentially harmful species while decreasing beneficial ones. Metabolic analysis revealed changes in fat, cholesterol, and sugar processing, suggesting that early-life microplastic exposure can disturb both the microbiome and metabolic development in fish.

2021 Environmental Pollution 176 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of Microplastics on the Growth and the Intestinal Microbiota Composition of Brine Shrimp

Researchers exposed brine shrimp to polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics and found that both types significantly reduced growth rates, with body length decreasing by 15-18%. The study also revealed that microplastic ingestion altered the gut microbiota composition, increasing microbial diversity and shifting the balance of key bacterial groups in the shrimp intestines.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 52 citations