Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Abundance, characteristics, and risk assessment of microplastics in indigenous freshwater fishes of India

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in five widely consumed freshwater fish species from India and found plastic particles in all specimens, with fibers being the most dominant type. Evidence of microplastics in edible fish tissue indicates translocation from the gut, suggesting a pathway for human exposure through consumption. Risk assessment showed that while microplastic abundance posed a low quantitative risk, the polymer types identified indicated a high hazard potential for the fish species studied.

2022 Environmental Research 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics in commercially valued Gangetic fishes and its exposure assessment on humans

Researchers characterized microplastics in commercially sold fish from the Ganges River in India, finding plastic contamination across multiple species and providing an initial exposure assessment for human consumers who rely on freshwater fish as a primary protein source.

2023
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics as a contaminant in Indian riverine system: a review

This systematic review examines microplastic contamination across India's river systems, documenting the types, sources, and concentrations of plastic particles found in major waterways. The findings are concerning for human health because these rivers provide drinking water and irrigation for hundreds of millions of people, creating widespread potential exposure to microplastics.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Tracing the invisible microplastics in river water and fish organs and its implication of riverine ecosystem integrity

Researchers analyzed microplastics in river water and fish organ tissues from a river in South Asia, finding contamination throughout the aquatic food web. The study used the plastisphere framework to discuss how microbial communities colonizing microplastics may influence particle fate and biological effects.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Tracing the invisible microplastics in river water and fish organs and its implication of riverine ecosystem integrity

Researchers traced microplastics in river water and fish organs from a South Asian river system, finding widespread contamination across multiple tissue types. The study identified the plastisphere concept as a useful framework for understanding how plastic-associated microbial communities accompany microplastics through aquatic food webs.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Riverine microplastics and their interaction with freshwater fish

This paper reviews how microplastics enter river systems, how they move through waterways, and the risks they pose to freshwater fish. Researchers found that fish ingest microplastics that can accumulate in organs and carry toxic chemicals absorbed from the water. The review highlights that river fish, an important food source for many communities, face growing exposure to microplastics from urban runoff, wastewater, and agricultural sources.

2023 Water Biology and Security 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Sources and Impact of Microplastic Pollution in Indian Aquatic Ecosystem: A Review

This review examines sources and impacts of microplastic pollution across Indian aquatic ecosystems, documenting widespread contamination in marine and freshwater environments and discussing risks to living organisms given projections that ocean plastic will outweigh fish by 2050.

2020 Current World Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Freshwater Ecosystems in India: A Comprehensive Review

This review examines the occurrence, sources, and ecological risks of microplastics across freshwater ecosystems in India, synthesizing current literature on contamination levels in rivers, lakes, and other inland water bodies.

2025 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND ANALYTICAL REVIEWS
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of Microplastics in the Gastrointestinal Tracts of Edible Fishes from South Indian Rivers

Researchers isolated and characterized microplastics from the gastrointestinal tracts of five edible fish species collected from the Kollidam and Vellar rivers in Tamil Nadu, Southern India. They found 315 microplastic particles across 23 fish, dominated by fibers (85.7%) in Kollidam river fish and fragments (14.3%) in Vellar river fish, with particle sizes ranging from 109 to 284 µm, indicating widespread dietary exposure to microplastics in commercially harvested freshwater fish.

2022 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 18 citations
Review Tier 2

Jeopardy of Indian Waters: A Review

This review covers the major threats to water quality in India, including microplastic pollution from plastic debris that weathers and enters rivers and coastal waters. Microplastics adsorb heavy metals and pathogens, causing mortality in fish and posing risks through the food chain to human consumers of seafood.

2020 Applied ecology and environmental sciences/Applied ecology and environmental science
Article Tier 2

Evidence of microplastic contamination in the food chain: an assessment of their presence in the gastrointestinal tract of native fish

Researchers found microplastics, mainly polyethylene and polypropylene, in the guts of fish from the Swat and Kabul rivers in Pakistan. These rivers are primary freshwater sources for the region, and the contaminated fish are regularly consumed by local communities. The findings confirm that freshwater fish from polluted rivers are a pathway for microplastic exposure in people's diets.

2024 Italian Journal of Food Science 16 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

Impacts of Microplastics as Contaminants in Freshwater Ecosystems and Human Food Chain

This review examines the impacts of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems and human food chains, tracing how plastic particles enter rivers and lakes, accumulate in fish and invertebrates, and transfer to humans through consumption of contaminated freshwater species.

2025
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastics and associated ecological risk in the longest river (Godavari) of peninsular India: A comprehensive source-to-sink analysis in water, sediment and fish

Researchers conducted a comprehensive survey of microplastic pollution throughout India's longest river, the Godavari, testing water, sediment, and fish from source to sea. They found microplastics throughout the entire river system and in the fish living there, highlighting that river pollution can transfer microplastics into organisms that people may eventually eat.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 11 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A Critical Review on the Characterization and Distribution of Microplastic Contaminants in Indian Water Environments: Pathways and Related Hazards

This systematic review examines microplastic contamination in India's freshwater environments, including rivers and lakes. While marine ecosystems have gotten the most attention, freshwater sources — which supply drinking water — are also heavily contaminated. The findings highlight how inadequate waste management and recycling infrastructure allow microplastics to spread through the water systems that communities depend on.

2025 Water Resources 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination in thirty commercially important fish species: Distribution, polymer composition, pollution indices, and human health risks

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in 600 specimens across 30 commercially important fish species from the Indian coast, finding the highest accumulation in the gastrointestinal tract with carnivorous species carrying the greatest burden. Polyethylene and polypropylene fibers were the dominant particle types, and human health risk assessment showed measurable daily intake from consuming these fish, with pollution indices indicating considerable to medium hazard risk levels.

2026 Marine Pollution Bulletin
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of Microplastic Contamination in Commercially Edible Fresh Water and Marine Fishes Bought from Fish Markets, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India

This Indian study examined microplastic contamination in freshwater and marine fish sold in markets in Tamil Nadu, finding plastic particles in multiple commercially important species. People who regularly eat fish from contaminated markets are likely consuming microplastics as part of their diet.

2023 UTTAR PRADESH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Micro Plastics on Fishes of Hooghly River, India

A study of fish in the Hooghly River near Kolkata found microplastic particles (0.3–5 mm) in multiple species and in riverbank sediments, with fiber and fragment shapes causing visible damage to fish livers and gills. The river receives plastic waste from surrounding urban land, making it a conduit for contamination into the fish that local communities consume. Organ damage in fish from microplastic ingestion raises broader concerns about food safety and ecosystem health in densely populated river systems.

2024 Annual Research & Review in Biology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Emerging Contaminants: Challenges in Inland Aquatic Food Web

This review examines microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems like rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, finding that these particles accumulate through the food chain from plankton to fish. Since humans eat freshwater fish, microplastic contamination in inland waters represents a direct pathway for human exposure that has received less research attention than ocean pollution.

2025 Water 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Indian aquatic systems and its effects on plants, aquatic organisms and humans, and its methods of remediation

This review summarizes microplastic pollution across India's rivers, coasts, and estuaries, finding contamination widespread in both water and sediment. The highest concentrations were found in estuaries and the Hooghly River, with most research focused on southern India's coastal areas. The study highlights that microplastics in Indian waterways pose health risks to the large populations that depend on these water sources for drinking, fishing, and irrigation.

2024 Chemistry and Ecology 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and exposure analysis of microplastic in the gut and muscle tissue of riverine fish in Kermanshah province of Iran

Researchers analyzed microplastic contamination in the gut and muscle tissue of fish from the Qarasu River in Iran, finding microplastics in all species examined. The estimated human dietary intake through fish consumption was calculated at approximately 174 and 127 particles per kilogram of body weight per year for adults and children respectively, highlighting the potential for microplastic exposure through food.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution: An emerging threat to freshwater aquatic ecosystem of India

This review examined microplastic pollution as an emerging threat to freshwater aquatic ecosystems in India, discussing sources, distribution, ecotoxicological effects on aquatic biota, and potential human health hazards. The authors highlighted that while marine microplastic research is extensive, freshwater ecosystems in India remain critically understudied relative to the scale of contamination.

2020 Journal of the Inland Fisheries Society of India 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Eco Toxicological Assessment of Micro Plastic Ingestion in Freshwater Fishes: A Case Study on Bioaccumulation and Histopathological Alterations

Researchers assessed microplastic accumulation in three freshwater fish species (tilapia, rohu, catla) from a major river system, finding microplastics in gastrointestinal tracts and associated histopathological damage in gills, liver, and kidneys.

2025 Asian Journal of Research in Zoology
Article Tier 2

Assessment and quantification of microplastic contamination in fishes with different food habits from Beel wetlands

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in fish from freshwater wetlands in India, finding particles in the digestive tracts of all 90 fish sampled across different feeding types. Carnivorous fish accumulated the most microplastics, followed by omnivores and then herbivores, suggesting trophic transfer plays a role. The most common particles were fibers in the 100 to 500 micrometer size range, with polyethylene and nylon as the dominant polymer types.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 6 citations