Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Physiological Responses to Microplastic Ingestion in the Peacock Wrasse Symphodus tinca from Ibiza, Spain

Researchers assessed microplastic occurrence and physiological stress responses in peacock wrasse (Symphodus tinca) from the Balearic Islands, finding MPs in 60.7% of fish sampled with 58 total items. Fish with microplastics showed elevated markers of oxidative stress and detoxification enzyme activity compared to those without.

2025 Environments
Article Tier 2

Presence and Potential Effect of Microplastics Associated with Anthropic Activity in Two Benthic Fishes Serranus scriba and Lithognathus mormyrus

Researchers compared microplastic ingestion and oxidative stress responses in two Mediterranean coastal fish species (Serranus scriba and Lithognathus mormyrus) from sites with different levels of human activity near Mallorca, finding higher microplastic loads and greater antioxidant enzyme activity at the more impacted site.

2025 Fishes
Article Tier 2

Induction of detoxification systems in wild red mullet Mullus surmuletus after microplastic ingestion

Wild red mullet caught near Mallorca were found to have ingested microplastics in 28% of sampled fish, and those fish showed activation of liver detoxification systems compared to fish without plastic in their stomachs. This is among the first evidence that wild fish experience physiological responses to microplastic ingestion, though no oxidative damage was detected.

2016
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Hazards of microplastics exposure to liver function in fishes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This meta-analysis found that microplastic exposure significantly impairs fish liver function, elevating key liver enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP, LDH) and triggering oxidative stress markers in liver tissue. The toxicological mechanisms include inflammation, apoptosis, and metabolic disruption, raising concerns about the health of fish populations in microplastic-contaminated waters and the safety of fish as a human food source.

2024 Marine Environmental Research 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution and Its Physiological Effects on the Top Fish Predator Dentex dentex from the Western Mediterranean

Researchers examined common dentex fish from coastal waters near Ibiza and found microplastics in over 90% of specimens, averaging about 6.6 particles per individual. Fish with higher microplastic loads showed increased detoxification and antioxidant enzyme activity in their digestive tracts compared to fish with lower loads. The findings indicate that microplastic ingestion triggers localized physiological stress responses in this commercially important Mediterranean predator.

2025 Microplastics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxidative Stress Induced by Exposure of Microplastics in Labeo Rohita

Exposure to low-density polyethylene (LDPE) microplastics caused dose-dependent oxidative stress in rohu fish (Labeo rohita) over 45 days. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in aquatic environments can harm fish health through increased free radical damage.

2021 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Interaction of Microplastic Presence and Oxidative Stress in Freshwater Fish: A Regional Scale Research, East Anatolia of Türkiye (Erzurum & Erzincan & Bingöl)

Researchers found microplastics in multiple fish species from rivers in eastern Turkey, with black fragments and fibers predominating, and detected elevated oxidative stress markers in fish liver tissue, with the highest reactive oxygen species levels in fish from Bingöl province.

2022 Sustainability 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic presence in the pelagic fish, Seriola dumerili, from Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean), and assessment of oxidative stress and detoxification biomarkers in liver

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in greater amberjack fish from the Balearic Islands in the Western Mediterranean, finding microplastics present in the gastrointestinal tracts of the fish. The study also assessed oxidative stress and detoxification biomarkers in the fish livers, contributing to understanding the potential biological effects of microplastic ingestion in wild pelagic fish.

2022 Environmental Research 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-induced oxidative stress response in turbot and potential intake by humans

Researchers examined microplastic contamination in turbot tissues and assessed the oxidative stress response caused by ingested particles. They found that microplastics accumulated most heavily in the gills and caused significant oxidative damage, particularly in the liver. The study also estimated human microplastic intake through fish consumption, highlighting a potential pathway for dietary exposure.

2023 Drug and Chemical Toxicology 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic ingestion by Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758 fish and its potential for causing oxidative stress

About 27% of striped red mullet caught in the Mediterranean had ingested microplastics, but analysis of their livers showed no significant oxidative stress or cellular damage. The study suggests that at current environmental concentrations, microplastic ingestion by this commercially important fish species does not cause measurable acute harm to organ tissue.

2017 Environmental Research 363 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Impact of microplastics exposure on liver health: A comprehensive meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 70 studies across mice, fish, crabs, and shrimp found that microplastic exposure significantly increases liver enzymes (ALT, AST), oxidative stress marker MDA, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, TNF-alpha), while reducing protective antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GSH, GPx). The findings demonstrate that microplastics disrupt liver function through oxidative stress and inflammation across multiple animal species.

2024 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Hepatic multi-level responses to polyethylene microplastics in Lateolabrax maculatus: Insights from transcriptomics, antioxidant enzyme activity, and histopathology

Researchers exposed spotted sea bass to diets containing polyethylene microplastics for 45 days and found multiple levels of liver damage, including altered gene expression, reduced antioxidant enzyme activity, and visible tissue changes. A subsequent depuration period showed partial but incomplete recovery. The study suggests that chronic microplastic exposure through contaminated feed may pose significant risks to liver health in commercially farmed fish species.

2026 Aquaculture Reports
Article Tier 2

IDENTIFYING AN OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSE IN ZEBRAFISH (Danio rerio) FED WITH MICROPLASTICS

Researchers fed zebrafish four different diets including commercial fish flakes, virgin pellets, and microplastics collected from two Canary Island beaches for 60 days, measuring catalase, glutathione-S-transferase, lipid peroxidation, and electron transport system activity at four time points. GST generally increased across all treatments, while CAT and ETS showed variable patterns, indicating an enzymatic stress response influenced by microplastic origin and composition.

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

Weathered polyethylene microplastics exposure leads to modulations in glutathione-S-transferase activity in fish

Researchers reported that exposure to weathered polyethylene microplastics modulates glutathione-S-transferase activity in fish, indicating that environmentally aged microplastics can trigger oxidative stress responses in marine organisms.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxidative and inflammatory responses to virgin and beached microplastics in marine fish liver

This study compared oxidative stress and inflammation responses in marine organisms exposed to virgin microplastics versus weathered, beach-collected microplastics. Beached particles, which have undergone environmental aging, triggered different and in some cases stronger toxic responses than their pristine counterparts.

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

Exposure to polypropylene microplastics via diet and water induces oxidative stress in Cyprinus carpio

Researchers fed carp fish polypropylene microplastics through both food and water and found that exposure caused oxidative stress in the liver, gills, and intestines. The damage was dose-dependent, with higher microplastic concentrations causing more harm to the fish's antioxidant defense systems. Since carp is a widely consumed fish, these findings raise questions about whether microplastics in aquaculture could affect the safety of fish as human food.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxic effects of polyethylene microplastics on transcriptional changes, biochemical response, and oxidative stress in common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Researchers exposed common carp to varying concentrations of polyethylene microplastics and assessed biochemical, oxidative, and gene expression changes. The study found that microplastic exposure caused significant oxidative stress, altered liver enzyme activity, and modified the expression of stress-related genes in a dose-dependent manner.

2022 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 72 citations
Article Tier 2

A Biomarker Approach as Responses of Bioindicator Commercial Fish Species to Microplastic Ingestion: Assessing Tissue and Biochemical Relationships

Researchers assessed microplastic intake and antioxidant biomarker responses in three Mediterranean fish species, finding that microplastic ingestion correlated with oxidative stress indicators across red mullet, bogue, and anchovy populations.

2022 Biology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxidative stress responses of microplastic-contaminated Gambusia affinis obtained from the Brantas River in East Java, Indonesia

Researchers examined oxidative stress biomarkers in wild Gambusia fish collected from the Brantas River in Indonesia and correlated them with microplastic contamination levels. They found elevated antioxidant enzyme activity in the gills and digestive tracts of fish from more polluted sites, indicating biological stress responses to microplastic exposure. The study provides field-based evidence linking microplastic pollution in tropical rivers to measurable physiological harm in native fish species.

2022 Chemosphere 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological Stress Responses Associated with Microplastic Ingestion in the Benthic Flatfish Bothus podas

Researchers found microplastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of 87.5% of wide-eyed flounder collected near Mallorca, Spain, with an average of nearly four particles per fish. The most common microplastics were fibers made of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polyester. Fish with higher microplastic loads showed signs of oxidative stress and immune responses in their intestinal and liver tissues, suggesting that ingesting microplastics may affect fish health.

2025 Toxics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbead-Mediated Enhancement of Bacterial Toxicity: Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in Korean Rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, Following Exposure to Streptococcus iniae

Korean rockfish were co-exposed to polystyrene microbeads and the bacterium Streptococcus iniae for five days, and oxidative stress and apoptosis were measured in liver tissue. Combined high-dose exposure significantly elevated oxidative stress markers and caspase-3 expression compared to either stressor alone, suggesting microplastics may enhance bacterial infection severity.

2025 Water
Article Tier 2

Do microplastics induce oxidative stress in marine invertebrates?

This review examined whether marine invertebrates exposed to microplastics show evidence of oxidative stress — a common cellular response to toxic injury — finding support for this effect across multiple species and polymer types. Oxidative stress is a key mechanism by which microplastics may harm marine organisms.

2018 Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar-und Meeresforschung (Alfred-Wegener-Institut) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxidative stress induced by nanoplastics in the liver of juvenile large yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea

Researchers exposed juvenile large yellow croaker fish to nanoplastics for 14 days followed by a 7-day recovery period and measured signs of oxidative stress in their livers. They found that antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid damage markers increased significantly at higher nanoplastic concentrations, and some effects persisted even after the recovery period. The study suggests that nanoplastic exposure may reduce fish survival rates and could have broader implications for fishery productivity.

2021 Marine Pollution Bulletin 101 citations
Article Tier 2

Presence and Potential Effects of Microplastics in the Digestive Tract of Two Small Species of Shark from the Balearic Islands

Researchers found microplastics in the digestive tracts of two catshark species near the Balearic Islands, averaging 4 to 8 particles per shark. Sharks with more microplastics showed signs of oxidative stress and inflammation in their gut tissue, including activation of detoxification enzymes. These findings show that microplastics are causing measurable biological harm in marine predators, which raises concerns about contamination moving up the food chain.

2024 Fishes 16 citations