Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastic accumulation in aquatic environment: Physiological, eco-toxicological, immunological, and neurotoxic effects

This review summarizes how microplastics build up in fish and other aquatic life, causing damage to their immune systems, nervous systems, and overall health. When fish eat microplastics, the particles move up the food chain and can eventually reach humans through seafood consumption. The authors also discuss strategies for removing microplastics from water and reducing plastic pollution.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 16 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

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

Microplastics bioaccumulation in fish: Its potential toxic effects on hematology, immune response, neurotoxicity, oxidative stress, growth, and reproductive dysfunction

This review finds that microplastics accumulate primarily in the guts and gills of fish before spreading to other tissues through the bloodstream, causing a cascade of harmful effects including blood changes, immune suppression, nerve damage, and reproductive problems. The severity of harm depends on the size and dose of particles and how long the fish are exposed, with implications for the safety of fish consumed by humans.

2024 Toxicology Reports 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution and translocation of micro- and nanoplastics in fish

This review summarizes research on how micro- and nanoplastics distribute and move through fish bodies, from the gut to organs like the liver, brain, and muscle tissue. Researchers found that nanoplastics are especially concerning because they can cross biological barriers, enter the bloodstream, and even pass to the next generation. The findings highlight the potential for plastic particles consumed by fish to move up the food chain to humans.

2021 Critical Reviews in Toxicology 106 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of the neurobehavioural, physiological, and reproductive toxicity of microplastics in fishes

This review summarizes how microplastics cause a range of harmful effects in fish, including behavioral changes, brain and immune system damage, oxidative stress, and reproductive disruption through interference with hormone signaling. These findings are relevant to human health because many of the same biological pathways affected in fish also exist in humans, and people consume fish that have accumulated microplastics.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental toxicology of microplastic particles on fish: A review

This review summarizes how microplastics harm fish through physical damage, inflammation, oxidative stress, immune suppression, genetic damage, and reproductive disruption. These effects matter for human health because toxic substances accumulate and concentrate as they move up the food chain from fish to the people who eat them.

2024 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 85 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological assessment of nanoparticles and microplastics

This review examines the toxicological effects of nanoparticles and microplastics on aquatic organisms, summarizing mechanisms of harm including oxidative stress, inflammatory responses, DNA damage, tissue injury, and neurological disruption in fish. It highlights that secondary nanoplastics formed from macro- and microplastic degradation are more heterogeneous than primary particles, and that combined exposure with chemical pollutants amplifies toxicity, including the capacity to cross the blood-brain barrier in fish.

2022 Biomedical Letters 2 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

Microplastic toxicity in fish: A potential review on sources, impacts, and solution

This review summarizes research on how microplastics affect fish health, covering sources of contamination, physical damage, hormonal disruption, and behavioral changes. Microplastics accumulate in fish tissues and can concentrate up the food chain, with potential toxic effects passing on to humans who eat contaminated seafood. The authors discuss possible solutions including better waste management, biodegradable alternatives, and advanced water treatment.

2025 Aquatic Toxicology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

From particle size to brain function: a zebrafish-based review of micro/nanoplastic-induced neurobehavioral toxicity and mechanistic pathways

This review uses zebrafish as a model to examine how micro- and nanoplastics cause neurobehavioral toxicity, linking particle size to brain function disruption. Researchers summarize evidence that these plastic particles impair fish behavior and cause molecular-level damage in the nervous system. The findings highlight the growing concern that micro- and nanoplastics are emerging neurotoxicants in aquatic environments.

2025 Environmental Science Nano 3 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Neurological effects induced by micro- and nanoplastics in fish: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This meta-analysis pooled data from 59 controlled studies and found that micro- and nanoplastics cause significant neurological effects in fish, including reduced brain antioxidant defenses and altered behavior. These findings are concerning because they suggest plastic pollution may disrupt nervous system function across species, and contaminated fish is a major part of the human diet.

2025
Article Tier 2

Threats of Microplastic Pollution on Fishes and its Implications on Human Health (Review Article)

This review summarizes research from 2010 to 2023 on microplastic contamination in fish and its potential implications for human health. Researchers found that microplastics are ingested by fish across diverse aquatic environments, with particles accumulating in the gastrointestinal tract and other tissues. The study highlights concerns that microplastic-contaminated seafood may represent a pathway for human exposure to both the plastic particles and associated chemical pollutants.

2024 Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries 3 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

Toxic effects on bioaccumulation, hematological parameters, oxidative stress, immune responses and neurotoxicity in fish exposed to microplastics: A review

This review summarizes how microplastics affect fish health, covering toxic effects on blood, immune system, nervous system, and the buildup of plastics in fish tissues. Microplastics that accumulate in fish can trigger oxidative damage, weaken immune responses, and impair brain-related enzyme activity. Since fish are a major protein source for humans, understanding how microplastics harm fish health is directly relevant to the safety of our food supply.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 452 citations
Article Tier 2

A Summary of the Transporting Mechanism of Microplastics in Marine Food Chain and its Effects to Humans

This review summarized how microplastics are transported through marine food chains from plankton to fish to humans, detailing toxic effects at each trophic level and outlining mitigation strategies to reduce ecological and human health risks from oceanic plastic pollution.

2022 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Brain damage and behavioural disorders in fish induced by plastic nanoparticles delivered through the food chain

Researchers showed that plastic nanoparticles pass through the food chain from algae to zooplankton to fish, and that once in the top predator fish, the particles cross the blood-brain barrier and cause measurable behavioral changes. This is one of the first demonstrations that nanoplastics can directly reach and damage brain tissue, with implications for the entire aquatic food web.

2017 Scientific Reports 775 citations
Article Tier 2

The invisible Threat: Assessing the reproductive and transgenerational impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on fish

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics can cross biological barriers in fish, accumulate in reproductive organs, and cause damage that passes down to offspring who were never directly exposed. The findings raise concerns about the long-term effects of plastic pollution on aquatic food chains, since fish that humans consume may have accumulated microplastics that affected their development and reproductive health.

2024 Environment International 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects of microplastic and nanoplastic on the reproduction of teleost fish in aquatic environments

This review summarizes research on how microplastics and nanoplastics harm the reproductive systems of fish, covering effects on fertility, sperm quality, egg development, and offspring abnormalities. The tiny plastic particles enter fish through their digestive tract, gills, and skin, causing oxidative damage that disrupts reproduction at the molecular and cellular level. Since fish are a major protein source for humans, reproductive damage to fish populations could affect both food security and the transfer of microplastics through the food chain.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 13 citations
Review Tier 2

Review of mechanisms and impacts of nanoplastic toxicity in aquatic organisms and potential impacts on human health

This review summarizes what we know about how nanoplastics (tiny plastic particles smaller than 1 micrometer) affect fish, shellfish, and other aquatic life, and what that could mean for people who eat seafood. Studies show nanoplastics build up in marine organisms and move up the food chain, causing oxidative stress, DNA damage, and inflammation along the way. Major gaps remain in understanding the long-term health effects of the low levels of nanoplastics people are likely exposed to through their diet.

2025 Toxicology Reports 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics in freshwater fishes health and the implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics affect the health of freshwater fish, which are a major protein source for billions of people. Fish ingest microplastics that accumulate in their guts, gills, and tissues, leading to inflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupted growth. Since microplastics in fish tissue can transfer to humans through the food chain, this is relevant to both ecosystem and human health.

2023 Brazilian Journal of Biology 39 citations
Article Tier 2

From natural environment to animal tissues: A review of microplastics(nanoplastics) translocation and hazards studies

This review summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics travel from the environment into animal bodies through water, food, air, and even skin contact, then move through the bloodstream to accumulate in organs. Once inside, these particles cause oxidative stress, inflammation, gut damage, reproductive harm, and nervous system effects across many animal species. The findings strongly suggest that similar pathways of exposure and harm could apply to humans.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 233 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

Microplastics in Fish: A Comprehensive Review

This review synthesizes research on microplastics in fish, covering contamination sources, detection methods, and impacts on wild and farmed populations globally — and examining how plastic particles in fish tissues may transfer to humans through seafood consumption.

2025 Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries