Papers

20 results
|
Article Tier 2

Melatonin reduces nanoplastic uptake, translocation, and toxicity in wheat

Researchers investigated whether melatonin could reduce the harmful effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on wheat plants. They found that melatonin application significantly decreased nanoplastic uptake by roots and their transport to shoots by regulating aquaporin gene expression and activating antioxidant defense systems. The study suggests that melatonin may serve as a protective agent to help mitigate nanoplastic toxicity in crops.

2021 Journal of Pineal Research 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Exogenous Melatonin Application Alleviates Microplastics and Cadmium‐Induced Phytotoxicity in Maize ( Zea mays L.) Plants: Insights From Physiological and Metabolomic Analyses

Researchers investigated whether exogenous melatonin could alleviate the combined phytotoxicity of microplastics and cadmium in maize plants. The study found that melatonin application reduced oxidative damage and improved plant growth under co-contamination stress, suggesting that melatonin may serve as a biostimulant to help crops cope with the increasingly common co-occurrence of microplastics and heavy metals in agricultural soils.

2025 Journal of Pineal Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Melatonin Defends Against the Oxidative Stress by Preventing the Uptake of Nanoplastics and Activating the Antioxidant System in Paeonia ostii.

Scientists found that melatonin (a natural hormone) can protect plants from tiny plastic particles by blocking them from entering plant cells and reducing harmful damage inside the plant. This matters because these microscopic plastics are spreading everywhere in our environment and getting into our food chain. While this study only looked at plants, it suggests melatonin might help protect living things from plastic pollution - though more research is needed to know if this applies to humans.

2026 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Impact of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles on Agricultural Crops Performance: A Review of Efficacy and Mechanisms

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research; it reviews the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on agricultural crop performance, focusing on photosynthesis enhancement and antimicrobial protection rather than plastic pollution.

2024 Futuristic Biotechnology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Chitosan nanoparticles alleviate nanoplastics toxicity by modulating polyamine metabolism and re-establishing redox homeostasis in maize seedlings

Researchers found that chitosan nanoparticles can alleviate the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on maize seedlings by modulating polyamine metabolism and restoring redox balance. The treatment significantly reduced nanoplastic accumulation in plant tissues by 32-56%, suggesting that this sustainable polymeric material could help protect crops from nanoplastic contamination in agricultural settings.

2025 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Reclaiming multi-contaminated soil: melatonin alleviates cadmium and microplastic toxicity to restore rice growth and yield

Researchers investigated whether melatonin could mitigate the combined toxicity of cadmium and microplastics in agricultural soils to restore rice growth and yield. The study found that melatonin treatment modulated plant physiological function, reduced cadmium uptake, and improved soil properties, offering a promising approach to help crops withstand multi-contaminant stress from both heavy metals and microplastics.

2026 RSC Advances
Article Tier 2

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles enhance the detrimental effect of polystyrene nanoplastics on cell and plant physiology of Vicia lens (L.) Coss. & Germ. seedlings

Combined exposure of Vicia lens seedlings to polystyrene nanoplastics and titanium dioxide nanoparticles caused greater physiological and cellular damage than either contaminant alone, suggesting synergistic toxicity at the plant level.

2024 Frontiers in Plant Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Strigolactones alleviate the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) in maize (Zea mays L.)

Researchers found that a natural plant hormone called strigolactone helped protect maize plants from the toxic effects of polystyrene nanoplastics by reducing how much plastic accumulated in the roots. The hormone activated the plant's antioxidant defenses and changed the expression of genes related to stress response and hormone signaling. While focused on plants, this research matters for food safety because it could lead to agricultural practices that reduce how much microplastic contamination ends up in crops that people eat.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Antagonistic effect of polystyrene nanoplastics on cadmium toxicity to maize (Zea mays L.)

Researchers studied the combined effects of polystyrene nanoplastics and cadmium on maize plants and found that nanoplastics actually reduced cadmium toxicity. The study suggests that nanoplastics can adsorb cadmium and limit its uptake by plant roots, though both contaminants individually reduced plant growth and triggered oxidative stress responses.

2022 Chemosphere 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Melatonin mitigates polystyrene nanoplastics-induced impairment of oocyte maturation in mice

Researchers found that polystyrene nanoplastics impair egg cell maturation in mice by causing excessive oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and disrupting the structural machinery needed for proper cell division. They then tested whether melatonin could counteract these effects and found that melatonin treatment significantly alleviated the damage by restoring mitochondrial function and reducing oxidative stress. The study suggests that melatonin may offer a protective strategy against nanoplastic-induced reproductive harm.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the adverse Impacts of Nano-scale Carbon Exposure on Nitrogen Metabolism during Early Seedling Establishment in Zea mays L. Roots

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it examines how nano-scale carbon materials affect nitrogen metabolism and root development in early maize seedlings.

2023
Article Tier 2

Melatonin Alleviates the Damage of Polystyrene Microplastics to Porcine Oocytes by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Damage, and Regulating Autophagy and Apoptosis Levels

Researchers investigated whether the antioxidant melatonin could protect porcine oocytes from damage caused by polystyrene microplastics. The study found that microplastics at 30 micrograms per milliliter significantly impaired oocyte maturation, but melatonin treatment helped alleviate this damage by reducing oxidative stress, protecting mitochondrial function, and regulating autophagy and cell death pathways.

2025 Animals 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicity effects of nanoplastics on soybean (Glycine max L.): Mechanisms and transcriptomic analysis

Researchers exposed soybean plants to polystyrene nanoplastics and observed inhibited stem and root growth, increased oxidative stress, and disrupted photosynthesis. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that nanoplastics altered the expression of genes involved in plant stress responses, hormone signaling, and metabolic pathways. The study suggests that nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils could negatively affect crop growth and yield at the molecular level.

2022 Chemosphere 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological effects and molecular metabolic of polystyrene nanoplastics on soybean (Glycine max L.): Strengthening defense ability by enhancing secondary metabolisms

Researchers exposed soybean seedlings to polystyrene nanoplastics and found that the tiny particles were absorbed by the roots and transported throughout the plant. The nanoplastics caused oxidative stress and slowed growth, though the plants activated defense mechanisms through secondary metabolism. This is concerning because crops that absorb nanoplastics could transfer them to humans through the food supply.

2024 Environmental Pollution 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Nano-Titanium Dioxide Regulates the Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis of Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) and Alleviates the Growth Inhibition Induced by Polylactic Acid Microplastics

Researchers found that nano-titanium dioxide alleviated the growth inhibition and oxidative stress that polylactic acid microplastics caused in radish roots, with transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis revealing nano-TiO2 stimulated the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway to enhance the plant's antioxidant defenses.

2025 Agriculture
Article Tier 2

Membrane Lipid Remodeling Modulated Maize Response to Environmentally Relevant Atmospheric Nanoplastics

Researchers exposed maize leaves to polystyrene nanoplastics with different surface modifications at environmentally relevant doses and found that amino-modified particles caused the strongest growth inhibition. All nanoplastics entered the leaves through stomata and accumulated in a dose-dependent manner, significantly suppressing the production of 31 membrane lipids involved in cell structure and signaling. The study reveals that atmospheric nanoplastics can disrupt membrane lipid metabolism in crops, providing molecular-level evidence of how airborne plastic particles may affect agricultural plants.

2026 ACS Nano
Article Tier 2

Nanotoxicological effects and transcriptome mechanisms of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under stress of polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics affect wheat plants at the molecular level using gene expression analysis. They found that nanoplastic exposure disrupted genes involved in photosynthesis, hormone signaling, and stress responses, ultimately reducing plant growth. The study provides new insights into how nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils could harm crop development at a fundamental biological level.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 148 citations
Article Tier 2

Synergistic integration of melatonin, copper nanoparticles, and Bacillus velezensis mitigates anthracnose and microplastic stress in chili: A novel eco-friendly strategy for sustainable crop protection

Researchers combined melatonin, copper nanoparticles, and a beneficial bacterium (Bacillus velezensis) to simultaneously protect chili pepper plants from both fungal disease and microplastic stress, finding the triple treatment restored photosynthesis, hormone balance, and antioxidant defenses better than any single agent alone.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics in soil impair drought priming-induced low temperature tolerance in wheat

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics in soil affect the cold stress tolerance of drought-primed wheat plants. The study found that nanoplastic contamination impaired the beneficial effects of drought priming on photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism, ultimately reducing grain yield, suggesting that nanoplastic pollution may undermine crop resilience strategies.

2024 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on tomato plant growth, fruit yield and quality

Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics affect tomato plant growth and fruit quality, finding that exposure reduced seedling biomass, impaired photosynthesis, and triggered oxidative stress. At higher concentrations, the nanoplastics inhibited mineral uptake and diminished fruit yield along with nutritional quality markers like vitamin C and lycopene. The study highlights that nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils could pose a meaningful threat to food crop productivity and nutritional value.

2026 Food Chemistry