Papers

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Article Tier 2

The impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on the chicken gut and liver: Based on transcriptomics and microbiomics

Researchers fed polystyrene nanoplastics to chickens for 21 days and found that the particles triggered inflammation and oxidative stress in the gut and liver, damaged the intestinal lining, and disrupted the gut microbiome — with some effects persisting even after exposure stopped. Because poultry is a major protein source for humans globally, these findings raise concerns about nanoplastic contamination in the food supply.

2026 Poultry Science
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: a potential threat to gut microbiota and antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens

Researchers investigated the effects of microplastic exposure on broiler chickens and found significant increases in liver enzyme and oxidative stress markers alongside decreased antioxidant capacity. The study also revealed substantial disruption to gut microbiota, with reduced diversity and altered microbial community structure affecting energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and other key functions.

2026 Frontiers in Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Environmental microplastics exposure decreases antioxidant ability, perturbs gut microbial homeostasis and metabolism in chicken

Researchers studied the effects of microplastic exposure on chickens and found that it decreased growth performance and antioxidant capacity while causing damage to the intestine, liver, kidney, and spleen. The study also revealed significant changes in gut microbiota composition, including decreased diversity and shifts in taxonomic makeup, suggesting microplastics disrupt gut microbial homeostasis in poultry.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Untargeted Metabolomics Uncovers Food Safety Risks: Polystyrene Nanoplastics Induce Metabolic Disorders in Chicken Liver

Researchers exposed chickens to polystyrene nanoplastics through feed for 120 days and used metabolomics to assess the impact on liver health. They found significant liver damage, including increased lipid accumulation and elevated liver enzyme levels, along with disruption of 193 metabolites primarily related to lipid and amino acid metabolism. The study raises food safety concerns, suggesting that nanoplastic contamination in poultry feed could affect the quality and safety of poultry products entering the food chain.

2025 Foods 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota dysbiosis exacerbates polystyrene microplastics-induced liver inflammation via activating LPS/TLR4 signaling pathway in ducks

This study found that polystyrene microplastics exacerbate gut microbiota dysbiosis in ducks, and that this disruption of the gut microbial community amplifies liver inflammation through the gut-liver axis, revealing a mechanism by which MP exposure causes hepatic injury.

2025 Poultry Science
Article Tier 2

Transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis reveals hepatic lipid metabolism disruption in Japanese quail under polystyrene microplastics exposure

Researchers fed Japanese quail polystyrene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations for 35 days and analyzed liver effects using transcriptomics and metabolomics. Low doses caused increased food intake and weight gain with liver lipid accumulation, while high doses led to decreased intake and weight loss, suggesting a hormetic dose-response pattern. The study found that microplastic exposure disrupted hepatic lipid metabolism pathways and caused liver oxidative stress in birds.

2025 Emerging contaminants 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Microplastics and Cadmium Drive the Gut-Liver Axis Through the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB Signaling Pathway to Cause Toxic Effects on Broilers

Broiler chickens exposed to polystyrene microplastics and cadmium, both commonly found in contaminated feed, developed intestinal damage and liver inflammation. The pollutants disrupted gut barrier proteins, altered intestinal bacteria, and triggered an inflammatory immune pathway in the liver. This is relevant to human health because it demonstrates how microplastics and heavy metals in the food chain can damage the gut-liver connection in poultry, potentially affecting the safety of chicken as food.

2025 Toxics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics disrupted physical barriers, microbiota composition and immune responses in the cecum of developmental Japanese quails

Researchers fed Japanese quails environmentally relevant concentrations of polystyrene microplastics for five weeks and examined their gut health. They found that microplastics damaged the physical barriers of the cecum, disrupted the gut microbial community, and impaired immune responses. The study suggests that even low-level microplastic contamination in the environment could compromise gut health and immune function in birds.

2023 Journal of Environmental Sciences 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Microplastic Exposure Changes Gut Microbiota in Chickens

Researchers exposed chickens to environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics and found that their growth performance decreased significantly. The gut microbiota composition was also altered, with changes in the abundance of several bacterial groups important for digestion and health. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in poultry environments could affect both animal welfare and the broader food production chain.

2023 Animals 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Microplastic Exposure Cause Cholestasis and Bile Acid Metabolism Dysregulation through a Gut-Liver Loop in Mice

Mice exposed to environmentally realistic levels of polystyrene microplastics for 30 days developed damaged intestinal barriers, liver injury, and disrupted bile acid metabolism. The study revealed a gut-liver feedback loop where microplastics alter gut bacteria, which changes bile acid production, which in turn causes further liver damage, suggesting a mechanism by which everyday microplastic exposure could harm digestive health.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastic exposure modulates gut microbiota and gut-liver axis in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

Researchers fed gilthead seabream diets containing polystyrene microplastics and found that the particles disrupted the communication between the gut and liver, known as the gut-liver axis. The microplastics altered gut bacteria composition, increased liver inflammation markers, and changed bile acid metabolism. The study highlights how microplastic ingestion can trigger a chain of interconnected effects across multiple organ systems in fish.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing transport, uptake and damage of polystyrene microplastics using a gut-liver-on-a-chip

Using an advanced gut-liver organ-on-a-chip system that mimics human digestion, researchers tracked how polystyrene microplastics travel from the intestine to the liver. The microplastics crossed the intestinal barrier, accumulated in liver tissue, and caused dose-dependent damage to liver cells. This human-relevant model provides strong evidence that microplastics ingested through food and water can reach and harm the liver.

2024 Lab on a Chip 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Multiomics Reveals Nonphagocytosable Microplastics Induce Colon Inflammatory Injury via Bile Acid-Gut Microbiota Interactions and Barrier Dysfunction

Researchers used multi-omics analysis to understand how large microplastics that cannot be absorbed by intestinal cells still cause colon inflammation in mice. They found that long-term oral exposure to polystyrene microplastics disrupted bile acid metabolism and gut barrier function, leading to the accumulation of specific bile acids that triggered cell death in colon tissue. The study reveals a novel mechanism linking microplastic exposure to intestinal inflammation through bile acid-gut microbiota interactions.

2025 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastics Exposure Alters Gut Microbiota and Correlates with Egg Quality Parameters in Chickens

Researchers exposed chickens to 100 nm nanoplastics through their diet for 120 days and found that the particles accumulated in intestinal tissues, causing structural damage including villus atrophy and goblet cell depletion. The study also revealed significant gut microbiota disruption and correlations with reduced egg quality parameters, suggesting nanoplastic exposure may affect both poultry health and productivity.

2025 Animals 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics induce gut microbiota dysbiosis and hepatic lipid metabolism disorder in mice

Researchers fed mice two sizes of polystyrene microplastics for five weeks and observed significant disruption of gut bacteria and changes in liver fat metabolism. The microplastics decreased mucus production in the gut and shifted the balance of key bacterial populations at multiple taxonomic levels. The study suggests that microplastic ingestion can trigger gut microbiota imbalance in mammals, which may in turn affect metabolic health.

2018 The Science of The Total Environment 966 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics impair chicken growth through gut microbiota-induced hepatic fatty acid metabolism dysfunction

This study showed that polyethylene microplastics, especially those containing chemical additives called phthalates, significantly slowed chicken growth by disrupting liver fat metabolism and gut bacteria. The microplastics altered the balance of intestinal microbes, which in turn affected how the liver processed fats. Since chickens are a major human food source, these findings raise questions about how microplastic contamination in poultry feed could affect both animal welfare and food quality.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics exacerbated liver injury from cyclophosphamide in mice: Insight into gut microbiota

Researchers developed a mouse model to investigate whether chronic pre-exposure to polystyrene microplastics worsens liver injury caused by the drug cyclophosphamide. The study found that mice with 90 days of microplastic exposure showed significantly more severe liver damage when subsequently treated with cyclophosphamide, with changes linked to gut microbiota disruption. The findings suggest that chronic microplastic exposure may reduce the liver's resilience to additional chemical stressors.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 73 citations
Article Tier 2

Multiomics analysis revealed the effects of polystyrene nanoplastics at different environmentally relevant concentrations on intestinal homeostasis

Researchers fed mice polystyrene nanoplastics at three different doses for 42 days and used multiple analysis methods to study the effects on gut health. Even the lowest dose increased gut permeability (leaky gut), triggered inflammation, and disrupted the balance of gut bacteria and their metabolites. These findings suggest that environmentally realistic levels of nanoplastic exposure could harm intestinal health and potentially contribute to chronic gut problems.

2025 Environmental Pollution 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Obesogenic polystyrene microplastic exposures disrupt the gut-liver-adipose axis

Mice that drank water containing polystyrene microplastics for 13 weeks developed signs of obesity and metabolic dysfunction, with disruptions across the gut, liver, and fat tissue. The microplastics caused intestinal bacteria changes, liver inflammation, and altered fat storage, affecting the entire gut-liver-fat tissue communication system. These findings suggest that chronic microplastic ingestion through contaminated water and food could contribute to obesity and metabolic disease in humans.

2024 Toxicological Sciences 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut dysbiosis: Nutritional causes and risk prevention in poultry, with reference to other animals

This review examines the causes and consequences of gut dysbiosis in poultry and other animals, identifying microplastics as one of several environmental pollutants that can disrupt gastrointestinal microbial communities. Researchers describe how reduced microbial diversity leads to inflammation, compromised gut barriers, and disorders affecting multiple organ systems. The study highlights that microplastics, along with heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants, contribute to the growing challenge of maintaining healthy gut microbiomes in animal populations.

2025 South African Journal of Animal Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 ACS Nano 160 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of polyethylene microplastics exposure on the, growth performance, reproductive performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbiota of quails

Researchers fed quails different levels of polyethylene microplastics and found that exposure harmed their growth, reproduction, and gut health. The microplastics reduced antioxidant defenses and disrupted the balance of beneficial bacteria in the birds' intestines. Since poultry is a major food source for people, microplastic contamination in farm animals raises concerns about indirect human exposure through the food chain.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut–Liver Axis Mediates the Combined Hepatointestinal Toxicity of Triclosan and Polystyrene Microplastics in Mice: Implications for Human Co-Exposure Risks

Mice co-exposed to the antimicrobial triclosan and polystyrene microplastics showed markedly worse intestinal and liver damage than those exposed to either contaminant alone, with gut microbiome disruption identified as a key mediating mechanism.

2025 Toxics
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics up-regulates liver glutamine and glutamate synthesis and promotes autophagy-dependent ferroptosis and apoptosis in the cerebellum through the liver-brain axis

Researchers exposed chickens to polystyrene microplastics and found that the particles caused liver metabolic disorders, increasing glutamine and glutamate synthesis. These abnormal liver metabolites then traveled to the brain through the liver-brain axis, promoting autophagy-dependent cell death in the cerebellum. The study reveals a concerning pathway by which microplastic-induced liver damage could lead to neurological harm.

2022 Environmental Pollution 177 citations