Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Are nanoplastics potentially toxic for plants and rhizobiota? Current knowledge and recommendations

This review evaluates whether nanoplastics — the smallest plastic fragments, formed as larger plastics break down — are toxic to plants and the microorganisms living around their roots (rhizobiota). The evidence suggests nanoplastics can directly impair plant growth and indirectly harm soil biology by altering soil chemistry and releasing associated contaminants. Because soil is becoming a major reservoir for plastic pollution, understanding these effects is critical for global food security and soil ecosystem health.

2023 NanoImpact 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of micro(nano)plastics on higher plants and the rhizosphere environment

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics affect higher plants and the soil environment around their roots. Researchers found that these particles can be absorbed through roots and transported to other plant tissues, causing oxidative stress and disrupting photosynthesis, metabolism, and gene expression. The study highlights that plastic pollution in soil threatens not only plant health but also the broader rhizosphere ecosystem that supports agriculture.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 183 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro (nano) plastic pollution: The ecological influence on soil-plant system and human health.

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics affect soil health, plant growth, and food quality, finding that these particles accumulate in plant root systems and can reduce crop yields and alter nutritional content. Since contaminated soil and water are increasingly delivering microplastics to food crops, these findings are directly relevant to agricultural food safety.

2021 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic–plant interaction and implications for soil health

This review summarizes research on how nanoplastics interact with plants in soil environments, finding that these tiny particles can be taken up by roots and transported to all plant organs, including edible parts like grain. Researchers found that nanoplastics induce oxidative stress in plants, inhibiting photosynthesis and growth, and can also carry other soil pollutants into plant tissues. The study highlights significant concerns about nanoplastic contamination entering the food chain through agricultural crops.

2022 Soil Use and Management 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Micro/Nanoplastics on Crop Physiology and Soil Ecosystems: A Review

This review synthesized evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics affect crop physiology and soil ecosystems, covering how plastic particles enter plants via roots, disrupt soil microbiota, and impair crop growth through oxidative stress, nutrient cycling disruption, and physical root interference. The authors found that nanoplastics pose greater plant risks than microplastics due to their ability to cross cell membranes.

2025 Soil Systems
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and nanoplastics in the soil-plant nexus: Sources, uptake, and toxicity

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics accumulate in agricultural soils from plastic products and affect the soil-plant system. Researchers found that nanoplastics can be taken up by plant roots, cause oxidative stress, and negatively affect crop growth. The findings raise concerns about food safety since these particles may carry co-contaminants into the food chain.

2023 Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic/nanoplastic toxicity in plants: an imminent concern

This review examines the growing body of research on how microplastics and nanoplastics affect terrestrial plants, from root uptake to changes in growth and gene expression. Researchers found that these particles can alter plant physiology and biochemistry at varying degrees depending on particle size and concentration. The study calls for more research on how plastic contamination in soil may ultimately affect food crop quality and human health through the food chain.

2022 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 182 citations
Article Tier 2

Particulate plastics-plant interaction in soil and its implications: A review

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics in soil interact with plants, including uptake through roots, accumulation in plant tissues, and effects on growth, nutrient absorption, and soil microbial communities. The study highlights that these plastic particles can alter soil structure and chemistry in ways that affect crop development, raising concerns about food safety and agricultural productivity.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 93 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro and nanoplastics pollution: Sources, distribution, uptake in plants, toxicological effects, and innovative remediation strategies for environmental sustainability

This review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics enter plants through roots, disrupt growth and photosynthesis, and cause oxidative stress that reduces crop yields. Because these plastic particles can move through plant tissues and into edible parts, they represent a potential pathway for microplastics to enter the human food supply.

2024 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances on Multilevel Effects of Micro(Nano)Plastics and Coexisting Pollutants on Terrestrial Soil-Plants System

This review systematically summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics, alone and combined with co-existing pollutants, affect soil properties and terrestrial plants at multiple biological levels. Researchers found that microplastics can serve as carriers for heavy metals, organic contaminants, and biological pollutants, with their specific impacts depending on polymer type, size, shape, and concentration. Evidence indicates that plants can take up and transport micro- and nanoplastics, leading to effects on growth, metabolism, and even DNA damage.

2023 Sustainability 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances on microplastics/nanoplastics interaction with plant species: A concise review

This review synthesizes research on how microplastics and nanoplastics interact with plants, finding that plastic particles in soil can interfere with root uptake, germination, and crop yields depending on the type and concentration of plastic present. The findings are particularly relevant to human health because food crops grown in microplastic-contaminated agricultural soils may absorb or accumulate plastic particles, creating a direct dietary exposure route.

2023 Malaysian Journal of Chemical Engineering and Technology
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastics: Critical review of their impacts on plants, interactions with other contaminants (antibiotics, heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), and management strategies

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics harm plants, both alone and in combination with other pollutants like antibiotics, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons. The combined exposure often worsens the damage, including inhibited growth, reduced seed germination, and genetic toxicity. The review also explores strategies to reduce this plant damage, which matters for food safety since contaminated crops are a route for microplastics to reach humans.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 83 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Nanoplastic Contamination on Rhizosphere Microbiome and Plant Phenotype

This study examined how nanoplastic contamination affects the rhizosphere microbiome (soil bacteria around plant roots) and plant growth. Nanoplastic exposure altered soil microbial communities and reduced plant growth, suggesting these tiny plastic particles could disrupt the soil ecosystems that support food production.

2023
Article Tier 2

Combined interactions and ecotoxicological effects of micro/nanoplastics and organic pollutants in soil–plant systems: a critical overview

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics interact with organic pollutants in soil-plant systems. The study highlights that these plastic particles can act synergistically with organic pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems, posing combined threats to soil and plant health that warrant further investigation.

2025 Environmental Science Advances 5 citations
Review Tier 2

Unveiling the mechanism of micro-and-nano plastic phytotoxicity on terrestrial plants: A comprehensive review of omics approaches.

This comprehensive review examined how micro-and-nano plastics (MNPs) in terrestrial soils damage plant health by inhibiting water and nutrient uptake, reducing seed germination, impairing photosynthesis, and inducing oxidative stress. The review identified key knowledge gaps in understanding MNP phytotoxicity mechanisms and their implications for food security.

2025 Environment international
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and plant health: a comprehensive review of sources, distribution, toxicity, and remediation

This review summarizes how microplastics enter soil from agricultural films, sewage sludge, textiles, and cosmetics, then get absorbed by plant roots and transported to edible parts, posing risks to food safety. Exposure to microplastics causes oxidative stress, genetic damage, and disrupts photosynthesis in plants, while also carrying heavy metals and pathogens deeper into the food chain.

2025 npj Emerging Contaminants 37 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Nano- and microplastics commonly cause adverse impacts on plants at environmentally relevant levels: A systematic review

Systematic review of 78 studies found that nano- and microplastics commonly cause adverse effects on plants even at environmentally relevant concentrations, with germination and root growth more strongly affected than shoot growth during early development. Chlorophyll levels were consistently reduced while stress indicators (ROS) and antioxidant enzymes were consistently upregulated across species.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics in Agroecosystem and Phytotoxicity

This review argues that nanoplastics (NPs) should be studied independently from microplastics due to their distinct environmental fate and behavior, covering their effects on soil geochemistry, rhizosphere biota, and phytotoxicity including oxidative stress, cytogenotoxicity, and epigenetic effects in plants.

2023 4 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Effects of nano- & microplastics on terrestrial plants are ubiquitous and widespread: a systematic review

This systematic review finds that nano- and microplastics have widespread negative effects on plants, including reduced germination, stunted growth, and biochemical stress responses. Since plants form the base of our food supply, these findings suggest that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils could affect crop health and potentially the quality of food we eat.

2023 CNR ExploRA
Article Tier 2

Micro and nano-plastics on environmental health: a review on future thrust in agro-ecotoxicology management

This review examines the growing body of evidence on how microplastics and nanoplastics affect plant health, soil microbial communities, and agricultural productivity. The study highlights that plastic accumulation in agricultural soils can alter crop growth and yield while disrupting soil ecosystem dynamics, and calls for greater attention to agro-ecotoxicology management to address these emerging threats to food production.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations