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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Epigallocatechin-3-gallate ameliorates polystyrene microplastics-induced anxiety-like behavior in mice by modulating gut microbe homeostasis
ClearPolystyrene micro- and nanoparticles exposure induced anxiety-like behaviors, gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolism disorder in adult mice
A mouse study found that exposure to both micro- and nano-sized polystyrene particles caused anxiety-like behavior, disrupted gut bacteria, and altered metabolism. The nanoplastics caused more severe effects than the larger microplastics, and longer exposure periods made the damage worse. These findings support the idea that plastic particles can affect brain function and behavior through the gut-brain connection.
Gut Microbiota Participates in Polystyrene Microplastics-Induced Hepatic Injuries by Modulating the Gut–Liver Axis
This mouse study showed that polystyrene microplastics cause liver damage partly through disrupting gut bacteria, which then triggers harmful signals along the gut-liver connection. When researchers eliminated gut bacteria with antibiotics, liver damage from microplastics was reduced, confirming the gut microbiome plays a key role. Green tea extract (EGCG) helped protect the liver by restoring healthy gut bacteria, suggesting diet may help counteract some effects of microplastic exposure.
Long-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics reduces macrophages and affects the microbiota–gut–brain axis in mice
Mice that consumed polystyrene microplastics over an extended period showed reduced immune cells called macrophages in their colons and changes in gut bacteria that were linked to altered brain chemistry. This study provides evidence for a gut-brain connection where microplastics may affect brain function indirectly by first disrupting gut health and the immune system.
Oxidized/unmodified-polyethylene microplastics neurotoxicity in mice: Perspective from microbiota-gut-brain axis
Mice exposed to both regular and environmentally weathered polyethylene microplastics developed brain and gut damage, including behavioral changes, weakened gut and blood-brain barriers, and inflammation -- with weathered microplastics causing even more harm. Importantly, treatment with a probiotic (Lactobacillus) and a prebiotic partially reversed these effects, suggesting that gut-friendly supplements might help protect against microplastic-related brain and intestinal damage.
Investigating the protective effects of epigallocatechin-gallate against polystyrene microplastics-induced biochemical and hematological alterations in rats
This study investigated whether epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) -- a green tea antioxidant -- could protect rats from biochemical and hematological damage caused by polystyrene microplastic ingestion. EGCG supplementation partially mitigated oxidative stress and inflammatory markers elevated by polystyrene microplastic exposure, suggesting a potential dietary protective strategy.
Impacts of polystyrene microplastic on the gut barrier, microbiota and metabolism of mice
Researchers exposed mice to polystyrene microplastics for six weeks and found that the particles accumulated in the gut, reduced protective mucus secretion, and damaged the intestinal barrier. The microplastics also significantly altered the composition of gut bacteria, decreasing beneficial species and increasing harmful ones. The study suggests that microplastic ingestion could disrupt gut health in mammals by simultaneously impairing the physical barrier and reshaping the microbiome.
Oral exposure of polystyrene microplastics and doxycycline affects mice neurological function via gut microbiota disruption: The orchestrating role of fecal microbiota transplantation
Mice exposed to both polystyrene microplastics and the antibiotic doxycycline showed brain inflammation and declines in learning and memory, driven by disruptions to their gut bacteria. Fecal transplants from healthy mice reversed some of these brain effects, confirming the gut-brain connection plays a key role. This suggests that microplastics combined with common antibiotics could harm brain function through changes in the gut microbiome.
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.
Gut Check: Microbiota and Obesity in Mice Exposed to Polystyrene Microspheres
Researchers found that gut microbiota appeared to play a mediating role in the obesity outcomes observed in mice fed manufactured polystyrene microspheres, suggesting that microplastic-induced alterations to the gut microbiome may be a mechanism linking microplastic exposure to metabolic dysfunction and weight gain.
Microbiota-mediated metabolic perturbations in the gut and brain of mice after microplastic exposure
In a mouse study, oral exposure to polystyrene microplastics of two sizes altered the gut bacteria community and caused metabolic changes in both the intestines and the brain. The disrupted gut bacteria appeared to drive changes in bile acid, energy, and other metabolic pathways. These findings support the idea that microplastics in food and water could affect brain health indirectly by first disrupting the gut microbiome and its chemical signals.
Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics causes anxiety and depressive-like behavior and down-regulates EAAT2 expression in mice
Mice exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics for two months developed anxiety and depression-like behaviors linked to reduced brain cell communication in the prefrontal cortex, caused by overactive support cells blocking a key brain chemical recycling system. When researchers activated the blocked recycling protein (EAAT2), the anxiety and depression symptoms were reversed, suggesting a potential treatment approach for nanoplastic-related mental health effects.
Intergenerational neurotoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in offspring mice is mediated by dysfunctional microbe-gut-brain axis
Researchers found that mother mice exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics during pregnancy and nursing passed neurological harm to their offspring, with the babies showing brain inflammation, disrupted dopamine and serotonin signaling, and gut microbiome imbalances — suggesting that nanoplastic exposure before birth can damage the developing brain through the gut-brain connection.
Polystyrene microplastics induce anxiety via HRAS derived PERK-NF-κB pathway
Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics accumulated in the brains of mice and caused anxiety-like behavior by activating inflammation in brain immune cells (microglia) through a specific molecular pathway involving the HRAS protein. This study identifies a concrete biological mechanism for how microplastics in the brain could contribute to anxiety and other neurological symptoms.
Characterization of the intestinal transport mechanism of polystyrene microplastics (MPs) and the potential inhibitory effect of green tea extracts on MPs intestinal absorption
Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics of different sizes and charges are transported across intestinal cells, and whether green tea extracts can reduce that absorption. The study suggests that green tea extracts may help strengthen the intestinal barrier, reduce microplastic transport into the body, and lower the oxidative stress that certain microplastics cause in cells.
Effects of Microplastics on Mental Health
This review examines the emerging evidence linking microplastic exposure to mental health outcomes, discussing proposed mechanisms including neuroinflammation, gut-brain axis disruption, and endocrine interference from plastic-associated chemicals. The authors call for dedicated human cohort studies to establish whether environmental microplastic levels contribute to psychiatric or cognitive conditions.
Interactions between polystyrene-derived micro- and nanoplastics and the microbiota: a systematic review of multi-omics mouse studies
Researchers systematically reviewed 15 mouse studies and found that exposure to polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics consistently disrupted gut bacteria — reducing beneficial species like Lactobacillus and increasing harmful ones — while also altering metabolic pathways throughout the body. Nanoplastics caused more severe microbiome disruption than larger microplastics, highlighting a serious health concern for humans.
Gut microbiota and liver metabolomics reveal the potential mechanism of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG modulating the liver toxicity caused by polystyrene microplastics in mice
Researchers found that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG helped protect mice from liver damage caused by polystyrene microplastic exposure. The probiotic worked by restoring healthy gut bacteria and normalizing liver metabolic pathways disrupted by the microplastics. The study suggests that supporting gut health through beneficial bacteria may help mitigate some of the toxic effects microplastics have on the liver.
Perturbation of gut microbiota plays an important role in micro/nanoplastics-induced gut barrier dysfunction
Researchers investigated how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt gut barrier function in mice, finding that different surface chemistries caused varying levels of damage. The study suggests that these plastic particles harm the gut by altering the gut microbiome, which then leads to inflammation and weakening of the intestinal barrier that normally keeps harmful substances out of the body.
Adolescent exposure to micro/nanoplastics induces cognitive impairments in mice with neuronal morphological damage and multi-omic alterations
Adolescent mice exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics showed significant memory and learning problems, along with neuron loss and reduced new brain cell growth in the hippocampus. The nanoplastics also disrupted gut bacteria and brain chemistry, with strong links found between gut microbiome changes and brain metabolic disruption, suggesting that plastic exposure during youth may impair brain development through the gut-brain connection.
Exposure to polystyrene microplastics reduces sociality and brain oxytocin levels through the gut-brain axis in mice
Adolescent mice exposed to polystyrene microplastics for 10 weeks showed reduced social behavior and lower levels of oxytocin -- a hormone important for social bonding -- in a key brain region. The microplastics damaged the gut lining and altered gut bacteria, and when researchers blocked the nerve connection between the gut and brain, the social behavior problems improved. This provides strong evidence that microplastics can affect brain function and social behavior through the gut-brain axis.
Dysregulation of the microbiota-brain axis during long-term exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics in rats and the protective role of dihydrocaffeic acid
Researchers exposed rats to low doses of polystyrene nanoplastics over 24 weeks and observed disruptions in the gut-brain connection, including changes in gut bacteria, intestinal damage, and altered brain function. A natural compound called dihydrocaffeic acid showed protective effects against these nanoplastic-induced harms. The study suggests that long-term nanoplastic exposure may disrupt the communication between gut microbes and the brain, with potential implications for neurological health.
Perinatal exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics alters socioemotional behaviors via the microbiota–gut–brain axis in adult offspring mice
Researchers exposed mice to polystyrene nanoplastics during the perinatal period and found that the offspring developed depression-like behaviors, reduced social interactions, and diminished social dominance as adults. The nanoplastics caused structural damage to hippocampal neurons and disrupted gut microbiota composition, particularly in male offspring. The study suggests that early-life nanoplastic exposure may affect brain development and behavior through the microbiota-gut-brain axis.
Polystyrene microplastics trigger adiposity in mice by remodeling gut microbiota and boosting fatty acid synthesis
Researchers discovered that polystyrene microplastics at relatively low concentrations caused weight gain and excess fat accumulation in mice by reshaping their gut bacteria. The altered gut microbiome boosted fatty acid production, increased appetite, and lowered physical activity in the exposed mice. This finding is significant because it suggests everyday levels of microplastic exposure could contribute to obesity through changes in gut bacteria and metabolism.
Quercetin intervention mitigates small intestinal damage and immunologic derangement induced by polystyrene nanoplastics: Insights from multi-omics analysis in mice
Researchers found that quercetin, a natural compound found in fruits and vegetables, protected mice from gut damage and immune system disruption caused by polystyrene nanoplastics. The nanoplastics damaged the small intestine and disrupted immune balance, but quercetin reversed much of this harm by restoring healthy gut bacteria and gene activity. This suggests that dietary compounds like quercetin might help counteract some negative health effects of nanoplastic exposure.