Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Research Advances on the Impact of Environmental Pollutants on Gut Microbiota

This review synthesizes evidence from animal models, human studies, and mechanistic experiments showing how microplastics, pesticides, and heavy metals each disrupt gut microbiota composition, reduce beneficial bacteria, and compromise intestinal barrier integrity and host health.

2025 Theoretical and Natural Science
Article Tier 2

Deciphering the Role of the Gut Microbiota in Exposure to Emerging Contaminants and Diabetes: A Review

This review explores the connection between exposure to emerging environmental contaminants, including microplastics and nanoplastics, and disruptions to gut microbiota that may influence glucose metabolism and diabetes risk. Researchers found that these pollutants can alter the composition and function of gut microbial communities through multiple mechanisms. The study suggests that the gut microbiome may be a key pathway through which environmental contaminants affect metabolic health.

2024 Metabolites 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological Evaluation of Effects of Some Environmental Pollutants on Intestinal Microbiota: Traditional Review

This review examines how various environmental pollutants affect the gut microbiome — the community of microorganisms in the intestinal tract. Microplastics are among the pollutants discussed, and their ability to alter gut microbiota composition is increasingly recognized as a mechanism by which plastic particles may harm human and animal health.

2023 Journal of Literature Pharmacy Sciences
Article Tier 2

Metabolomics-Based Insights Into the Toxicological Effects and Mechanisms of Microplastics: A Comprehensive Review.

This review of existing research shows that microplastics—tiny plastic particles found everywhere in our environment—can harm multiple body systems including the gut, brain, and reproductive organs. Scientists used a technique called metabolomics (studying how our body processes chemicals) to discover that microplastics disrupt normal metabolism, potentially affecting everything from digestion and brain function to fertility and child development. This research helps explain why microplastic pollution may be a serious health threat that requires urgent attention and solutions.

2026 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Interactions between environmental pollutants and gut microbiota: A review connecting the conventional heavy metals and the emerging microplastics

This review examines how environmental pollutants, including both heavy metals and microplastics, interact with gut bacteria in humans and animals. The authors found that these pollutants can disrupt the balance of gut microbiota, which may contribute to various health problems, and that gut bacteria can also transform pollutants in ways that change their toxicity.

2025 Environmental Research 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Role-Playing Between Environmental Pollutants and Human Gut Microbiota: A Complex Bidirectional Interaction

This review examined the bidirectional relationship between environmental pollutants, including microplastics, and the human gut microbiota, highlighting how toxicants alter microbial communities while gut bacteria can metabolize or modify pollutant toxicity.

2022 Frontiers in Medicine 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic Effects of Xenobiotics on Gut Microbiome and Host Health: A Mini-Review

This mini-review examines how xenobiotics including heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, air pollutants, persistent organic pollutants, and microplastics disrupt the gut microbiome and host health, with implications for developing targeted therapies.

2024 Toxicology International
Article Tier 2

Interaction between microplastics and microorganism as well as gut microbiota: A consideration on environmental animal and human health

This review explores how microplastics interact with microorganisms in the environment and within the gut, examining implications for both animal and human health. Researchers found that microplastics can alter gut microbiota composition, promote the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and amplify the toxicity of other environmental pollutants. The study suggests that the interaction between microplastics and gut microorganisms is an important emerging area for understanding health risks.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 405 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-induced gut microbiota and serum metabolic disruption in Sprague-Dawley rats

Researchers exposed rats to a mixture of common microplastic types at concentrations reflecting real-world human exposure and found significant disruptions to gut bacteria and blood metabolites. The microplastic mixture altered the balance of beneficial and harmful gut microbes and changed metabolic pathways related to amino acids and lipids. The study suggests that everyday microplastic exposure from food and water may affect mammalian gut health and metabolism.

2023 Environmental Pollution 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and the gut microbiome: Emerging health concerns and strategies

This review covers how microplastic ingestion affects the gut microbiome, describing mechanisms by which microplastics cause intestinal disorders, disrupt endocrine function, and promote pathogenic bacterial growth, while also noting inhalation and dermal absorption as secondary exposure routes.

2025 Journal of Environmental Biology
Article Tier 2

Interactions between gut microbiota and emerging contaminants exposure: new and profound implications for human health

This review explores how emerging contaminants like microplastics, antibiotics, and persistent organic pollutants interact with gut bacteria and what that means for human health. Researchers found that the gut microbiome is a key target of these pollutants and may play a role in organ damage, hormonal disruption, and other toxic effects through pathways like the gut-liver and gut-brain axes. The study underscores the importance of understanding the three-way relationship between environmental contaminants, gut bacteria, and overall health.

2024 Environmental Research Communications 4 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Impact of microplastics on the human gut microbiome: a systematic review of microbial composition, diversity, and metabolic disruptions

This systematic review of 12 studies found that microplastics including polyethylene, polystyrene, and PVC induce gut dysbiosis in humans, reducing beneficial bacteria and enriching pathogens. Microplastic exposure also impairs short-chain fatty acid production and modulates immune pathways, contributing to intestinal disease, metabolic syndrome, and chronic inflammation.

2025 BMC Gastroenterology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of exposure to microplastics and pollutants on the arthropod microbiome

This thesis investigated how microplastics and other pollutants (pesticides, detergents, metals) affect the gut microbiome of freshwater invertebrates. Disruption of the host-microbiome relationship by microplastics could impair immune function and overall health in aquatic organisms that form important parts of the food web.

2021 Digital comprehensive summaries of Uppsala dissertations from the Faculty of Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

Micro- and Nanoplastics as Emerging Environmental Materials: GreenChemistry Insights into Gut Microbiota Disruption and Chronic DiseasePathways

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and disrupt gut microbiota composition, finding evidence linking these exposures to reduced microbial diversity, gut barrier dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and potential contributions to chronic diseases including metabolic disorders and neurodegeneration.

2026 Current Materials Science
Article Tier 2

The potential influence of food additives and contaminants on the gut microbiota: A comprehensive review

This comprehensive review examines how food additives and contaminants, including pesticides, heavy metals, microplastics, and antibiotics, affect the gut microbiota. Researchers found that these substances can disrupt the balance of gut microbes, leading to inflammation, gastrointestinal injury, and altered production of beneficial short-chain fatty acids. The study emphasizes the need for further research into the mechanisms by which dietary contaminants affect gut health and overall wellbeing.

2025 Food and Chemical Toxicology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of environmental metabolism disrupting chemicals and effect biomarkers associating disease risks: Where exposomics meets metabolomics

This review examines how environmental chemicals, including contaminants associated with plastics, can disrupt human metabolism and contribute to conditions like obesity and diabetes. Researchers mapped the connections between chemical exposure and changes in metabolic biomarkers that signal disease risk. The study highlights the emerging field of metabolism-disrupting chemicals and the importance of understanding how everyday environmental exposures influence long-term metabolic health.

2021 Environment International 175 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and human health: unveiling the gut microbiome disruption and chronic disease risks

This review summarizes evidence that microplastics disrupt the gut microbiome, the community of bacteria in our digestive system that plays a key role in immunity, metabolism, and overall health. By altering gut bacteria balance and triggering inflammation, microplastic exposure may contribute to chronic conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic disorders, and potentially even neurological problems through the gut-brain connection.

2024 Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Metabolomics Approach in Environmental Studies: Methodologies, Application and Challenges

This review examines how metabolomics, the study of small molecules in biological systems, is being applied to environmental research to understand how chemical pollutants including microplastics affect organism metabolism. The study highlights metabolomics as a valuable tool for assessing the biological effects of environmental exposures at the molecular level, helping researchers identify biomarkers of pollutant exposure in both wildlife and humans.

2025 Critical Reviews in Analytical Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiome remodeling induced by microplastic exposure in humans

This review synthesizes evidence on how microplastic exposure affects the human gut microbiome, drawing on cross-sectional studies of people exposed through plastic food containers and other sources. Evidence indicates that microplastic exposure is associated with shifts in gut bacteria composition, including increases in certain bacterial groups linked to inflammation. The authors explore potential connections between microplastic-induced changes in gut bacteria and the development of various health conditions.

2026 Gut Microbes
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and their interactions with microbiota

This review examines how microplastics interact with microbiota (the communities of microorganisms in the environment and in living bodies). Microplastics can carry harmful bacteria and disrupt the natural balance of microbial communities in soil, water, and the human gut. The disruption of gut microbiota by microplastics is particularly concerning because a healthy gut microbiome is essential for immune function, digestion, and overall health.

2023 Heliyon 64 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

The impact of microplastics on the mice gut microbiome: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis pools data from multiple mouse studies to assess how ingested microplastics affect gut bacteria. It found that microplastic exposure can alter the balance of the gut microbiome, which is important because gut health is closely tied to immune function, digestion, and overall well-being.

2025
Article Tier 2

In vivo exposure of mixed microplastic particles in mice and its impacts on the murine gut microbiome and metabolome

Researchers exposed mice to a mixture of common microplastic types to investigate effects on the gut microbiome and metabolome. The study found that ingested microplastic particles altered gut microbial composition and disrupted metabolic pathways, suggesting that realistic mixed-microplastic exposure may have broader biological effects than single-polymer studies indicate.

2025 Toxicological Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of emerging pollutants on the gut microbiota of freshwater animals: Focusing on microplastics and pesticides

This review examines how microplastics and pesticides, two pollutants commonly found together in freshwater, each disrupt the gut bacteria of fish and other aquatic animals, and their combined presence can make the effects worse. Changes in gut bacteria caused by these pollutants can impair metabolism, immunity, and overall health of aquatic organisms, with potential consequences for the food chain.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota of aquatic organisms: A key endpoint for ecotoxicological studies

This review examines how environmental contaminants including microplastics, pesticides, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals affect the gut microbiota of aquatic organisms. Researchers highlight that changes in gut bacterial communities can serve as sensitive indicators of pollution exposure and may have downstream effects on host fitness. The study calls for improved methodologies to better link contaminant-induced shifts in gut microbiota to measurable health outcomes in aquatic species.

2019 Environmental Pollution 261 citations