Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Impact of Micro- and Nanoplastics on Aquatic Organisms: Mechanisms of Oxidative Stress and Implications for Human Health—A Review

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics cause oxidative stress, a harmful chemical imbalance, in aquatic organisms from plankton to fish. These tiny plastics accumulate in the food chain and may reach humans through seafood consumption. While the evidence of harm in aquatic species is growing, more research is needed to fully understand the implications for human health.

2023 Environments 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the ecotoxicological effects of micro and nano-plastics on aquatic organisms and human health

This review summarizes the growing body of evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics affect aquatic organisms and, through the food chain, potentially human health. The tiny plastic particles absorb toxic pollutants and pathogens from the water, acting as carriers that deliver these harmful substances into the bodies of fish, shellfish, and other organisms. The review highlights that both direct plastic toxicity and indirect chemical exposure through contaminated seafood pose risks to human consumers.

2024 Frontiers in Environmental Science 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological review of micro- and nano-plastics in aquatic environments: Risks to ecosystems, food web dynamics and human health.

This review synthesized evidence on the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering risks to individual organisms, disruptions to food web dynamics, and pathways through which plastic exposure poses risks to human health via seafood consumption.

2024 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Article Tier 2

Toxicological Research on Nano and Microplastics in Environmental Pollution: Current Advances and Future Directions

This review summarizes existing research on how nano- and microplastics from our massive global plastic production enter aquatic environments, absorb harmful chemicals, and move through food chains into living organisms. Studies show these particles can cause brain damage, disrupt metabolism, trigger inflammation, and produce harmful oxidative stress in aquatic species, with microplastics even detected in commercial fish that people eat.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on marine environment and human health

This review examines the effects of micro- and nanoplastics on marine environments and human health, covering sources, environmental fate, and biological impacts. Researchers summarize evidence that these particles can cause oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of gut microbiota in exposed organisms. The study highlights that while the full extent of health risks remains uncertain, the pervasive presence of plastic particles in food, water, and air makes continued research a public health priority.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 237 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro(nano)plastics Prevalence, Food Web Interactions, and Toxicity Assessment in Aquatic Organisms: A Review

This review examines the prevalence of micro- and nanoplastics across aquatic environments and their documented toxic effects on organisms ranging from plankton to fish, including DNA damage, reproductive harm, and neurotoxicity. Researchers found clear evidence that these particles transfer through aquatic food webs and can ultimately reach humans through seafood consumption. The study calls for more research into how microplastics carrying multiple contaminants cause combined toxic effects in marine organisms.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 164 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Nanoplastics on Aquatic Organisms

This review summarizes how nanoplastics — plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer — affect aquatic organisms, highlighting their ability to penetrate cell membranes, accumulate inside organisms, and cause oxidative stress and reproductive harm.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Overview of the ecotoxicological impacts of micro and nanoplastics in aquatic environments

This review summarises the ecotoxicological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on marine and freshwater ecosystems, covering mechanisms including physical damage, oxidative stress, inflammation, reproductive impairment, and metabolic disruption in aquatic species. It also discusses bioaccumulation and trophic transfer dynamics.

2025 Bangladesh Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research
Article Tier 2

Biological Effects of Microplastics: A Review.

Researchers reviewed how microplastics harm a wide range of living things, finding they cause physical damage, inflammation, oxidative stress, and reproductive problems in aquatic animals, while also carrying toxic chemicals and dangerous bacteria into organisms. Major gaps remain in understanding the effects of long-term low-dose exposure and the risks posed by even tinier nanoplastics.

2025 Mağallaẗ ʻulūm al-rāfidayn
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological Impacts of Micro and Nanoplastics on Marine Fauna

This review examines the ecotoxicological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on marine fauna, detailing how these particles enter food chains through ingestion, accumulate across trophic levels, and cause physical and chemical harm including oxidative stress, inflammation, reproductive disruption, and mortality. The authors highlight the compounding threat when plastics act as vectors for adsorbed pollutants.

2020 Examines in Marine Biology & Oceanography 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic contamination of the food chain: A threat to human health?

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics enter the human food chain through shellfish, inhalation, and other routes, and assesses what is known about their toxicity. The authors conclude that while larger microplastics appear to have low absorption and toxicity, nanoplastics may accumulate in tissues and potentially affect the nervous and reproductive systems, though effects in humans remain unproven.

2018 Maturitas
Review Tier 2

A review on microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment: Their occurrence, exposure routes, toxic studies, and potential effects on human health

This review summarizes what is known about how microplastics and nanoplastics enter the human body through food, air, and skin contact, and what they do once inside. Studies on cells and animals show these tiny particles can cause oxidative stress, DNA damage, inflammation, and harm to the immune, digestive, reproductive, and nervous systems. The research makes clear that microplastics are not just an environmental problem but a direct concern for human health.

2022 Marine Pollution Bulletin 379 citations
Article Tier 2

An overview of the effects of nanoplastics on marine organisms

This review summarizes current knowledge about how nanoplastics affect marine organisms, from plankton to fish. Researchers highlight that these extremely small plastic particles are difficult to detect and measure, meaning their true environmental presence is likely underestimated. The study warns that the effects of nanoplastics on marine life could indirectly impact human health through the seafood supply chain.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 109 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity of nanoplastics to aquatic organisms: Genotoxicity, cytotoxicity, individual level and beyond individual level

This review examines the toxic effects of nanoplastics on aquatic organisms across multiple levels of the food chain, from bacteria and algae to fish. Researchers found that nanoplastics can cause cell damage, genetic harm, and reproductive problems, with toxicity influenced by particle size, concentration, and surface properties. The study also highlights how nanoplastic effects on individual organisms can cascade to disrupt broader ecosystem dynamics.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 105 citations
Article Tier 2

The risks of marine micro/nano-plastics on seafood safety and human health

This review examined the risks of marine micro- and nanoplastics to seafood safety and human health, detailing how plastic particles are ingested by marine organisms and transferred through the food chain to consumers.

2023 Advances in food and nutrition research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Human health concerns regarding microplastics in the aquatic environment - From marine to food systems

This review traces the journey of microplastics from marine environments into the human food supply, examining how they contaminate seafood, drinking water, and the food chain. Particles smaller than 150 micrometers can pass through the intestinal wall and reach other organs, where they may cause chronic toxicity including cardiovascular, liver, and brain damage. The authors emphasize that nanoplastics are especially concerning because their small size allows them to penetrate deeper into the body.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 706 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological and Health Impacts of Micro- and Nanoplastics

This review explores how micro- and nanoplastics affect aquatic ecosystems and potentially human health, examining toxicity mechanisms across multiple levels of biological organization. Researchers found that particle size, polymer type, and weathering influence how these contaminants cause oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption, while the microbial communities forming on plastic surfaces may serve as reservoirs for pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes.

2026 IntechOpen eBooks
Article Tier 2

Biotransport and toxic effects of micro- and nanoplastics in fish model and their potential risk to humans: A review

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics enter fish through ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact, causing damage to multiple organ systems including the brain, heart, and reproductive organs. The particles trigger harmful cellular responses such as oxidative stress, DNA damage, and mitochondrial dysfunction. The study emphasizes that these pollutants can also reach humans through the food chain, highlighting the need for strategies to reduce plastic contamination in aquatic environments.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 8 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic review of the effects of nanoplastics on fish

This systematic review examines how nanoplastics (extremely small plastic particles) affect fish, including their ability to cross biological barriers and accumulate in tissues. The findings are relevant to human health because fish are a major dietary protein source, and understanding how plastics move through aquatic food chains helps us assess our own exposure risks.

2025 Frontiers in Toxicology 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Human and ecological health effects of nanoplastics: May not be a tiny problem

This review examined the health effects of nanoplastics in humans and ecosystems, finding that while direct human evidence is limited, nanoplastic particles cross biological barriers more readily than larger fragments and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption in animal models, suggesting the problem is far from trivial.

2021 Current Opinion in Toxicology 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on AquaticOrganisms and Human Health: A Review

This review examines how microplastics from degraded plastic debris accumulate in aquatic environments, are ingested by organisms at all levels of the food chain, and may transfer to humans through seafood. The evidence warrants concern about microplastic contamination as an emerging public health issue.

2020 RePEc: Research Papers in Economics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics pollution on human health and aquatic life: a review

This review summarizes how microplastics enter the environment from sources like plastic pellets, cosmetics, and the breakdown of larger plastics through UV light and weathering. Researchers describe how these tiny particles accumulate in oceans primarily from land-based human activities and transfer through the food chain from one organism to another. Evidence indicates that microplastic exposure in aquatic organisms can cause tissue damage, oxidative stress, and disruptions to normal biological processes.

2025 Polymer International 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the human health impacts of environmental micro- and nanoplastics

This review summarized current understanding of how micro- and nanoplastic particles enter the human body through food and air, accumulate in tissues, and cause health effects through oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption, with a focus on gaps in knowledge about long-term human health impacts.

2025 University of Vienna
Article Tier 2

Assessing toxicological risk of nanoplastics contaminants in food and feed from ingestion pathway to human diseases

This review examines how nanoplastics, which are tiny fragments smaller than 0.1 micrometers, enter the human food chain and may pose health risks. Evidence indicates that nanoplastics can cross biological membranes more easily than larger microplastics, potentially reaching organs and accumulating over time. The study highlights the need for better detection methods and risk assessments to understand the long-term health implications of nanoplastic ingestion through food and beverages.

2025 F1000Research 3 citations