Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the ecotoxicological effects of micro and nano-plastics on aquatic organisms and human health

This review summarizes the growing body of evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics affect aquatic organisms and, through the food chain, potentially human health. The tiny plastic particles absorb toxic pollutants and pathogens from the water, acting as carriers that deliver these harmful substances into the bodies of fish, shellfish, and other organisms. The review highlights that both direct plastic toxicity and indirect chemical exposure through contaminated seafood pose risks to human consumers.

2024 Frontiers in Environmental Science 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: understanding the interaction with the food web and potential health hazards

This review traces how microplastics move through aquatic food webs, from tiny filter-feeding organisms up to predatory fish, and ultimately to humans who consume seafood. Evidence indicates that microplastics can accumulate and concentrate at each level of the food chain, carrying toxic chemicals that may cause inflammation and hormone disruption. The authors stress the need for more research to understand these pathways and develop strategies to reduce microplastic contamination in food.

2025 Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro(nano)plastics Prevalence, Food Web Interactions, and Toxicity Assessment in Aquatic Organisms: A Review

This review examines the prevalence of micro- and nanoplastics across aquatic environments and their documented toxic effects on organisms ranging from plankton to fish, including DNA damage, reproductive harm, and neurotoxicity. Researchers found clear evidence that these particles transfer through aquatic food webs and can ultimately reach humans through seafood consumption. The study calls for more research into how microplastics carrying multiple contaminants cause combined toxic effects in marine organisms.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 164 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro-Nano Plastics in Aquatic Environments: Associated Health Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic environments are biologically transferred up the food chain, covering the factors that influence particle bioavailability, accumulation in organisms, and trophic transfer — with implications for both aquatic ecosystem health and human dietary exposure.

2025
Article Tier 2

Toxicological review of micro- and nano-plastics in aquatic environments: Risks to ecosystems, food web dynamics and human health.

This review synthesized evidence on the toxicological effects of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems, covering risks to individual organisms, disruptions to food web dynamics, and pathways through which plastic exposure poses risks to human health via seafood consumption.

2024 Ecotoxicology and environmental safety
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics in zooplanktons towards its speculations on human health: A review

This review examines how microplastics move through the ocean food chain, from tiny zooplankton at the base up through fish to humans, and what health effects may result. Trophic transfer means microplastics can concentrate as they move up the food web, increasing human dietary exposure.

2019 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and associated contaminants in the aquatic environment: A review on their ecotoxicological effects, trophic transfer, and potential impacts to human health

This review examines how microplastics and the chemical contaminants they carry move through aquatic food chains from small organisms up to larger predators. Researchers found that microplastics can transfer toxic additives and absorbed pollutants to organisms that ingest them, with potential implications for seafood safety and ultimately human health.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 727 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on AquaticOrganisms and Human Health: A Review

This review examines how microplastics from degraded plastic debris accumulate in aquatic environments, are ingested by organisms at all levels of the food chain, and may transfer to humans through seafood. The evidence warrants concern about microplastic contamination as an emerging public health issue.

2020 RePEc: Research Papers in Economics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Review of Impacts on Aquatic Animals

This review synthesizes research on microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, tracing how approximately 8 million tons of plastic waste enters oceans annually and fragments into particles that are ingested by marine organisms. The study highlights that microplastics can transfer through food webs to humans via contaminated seafood, with potential implications for human health.

2025 Annals of Animal Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics act as vectors for chemical contaminants through marine food webs, discussing the factors influencing ingestion, the biological impacts of sorbed chemicals, and evidence for trophic transfer across multiple trophic levels. Researchers highlight that existing lab studies use unrealistically high concentrations and that no study has yet tracked microplastic-contaminant transfer from seafood to humans.

2018 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of nano/micro-plastics on safety and quality of aquatic food products

This review assessed the impact of nano- and microplastics on the safety and quality of aquatic food products, highlighting how contaminated marine organisms transmit plastic particles and associated toxins to higher trophic levels including humans.

2023 Advances in food and nutrition research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic profusion in food and drinking water: are microplastics becoming a macroproblem?

This review examined the prevalence of microplastics in food and drinking water, assessing trophic transfer along the food web and evaluating whether microplastic contamination in human dietary sources constitutes a growing public health concern.

2022 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 28 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastics in aquatic organisms: Improving understanding and identifying research directions for the next decade

This meta-analysis reviews a decade of research on microplastic ingestion by aquatic organisms, from tiny plankton to large fish. It identifies major knowledge gaps, including the long-term health effects of ingestion and what happens as microplastics move up the food chain toward human consumers.

2020 Limnology and Oceanography Letters 84 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics and the chemicals they carry transfer through marine food webs from lower to higher trophic levels, and what this means for human health given that people consume marine fish and seafood. It identifies microplastics as a vector for bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in ways that ultimately reach humans.

2018 OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on Aquatic Organisms and Human Health: A Review

This review examined the impacts of microplastics on aquatic organisms and human health, highlighting that microplastic size ranges mimic prey sizes ingested by aquatic organisms and that contaminated commercially important fish species transfer microplastics to human consumers. The authors synthesised evidence on ingestion pathways, toxicological effects, and human dietary exposure routes.

2020 International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources 17 citations
Article Tier 2

The risks of marine micro/nano-plastics on seafood safety and human health

This review examined the risks of marine micro- and nanoplastics to seafood safety and human health, detailing how plastic particles are ingested by marine organisms and transferred through the food chain to consumers.

2023 Advances in food and nutrition research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health

This review examines how microplastics move through marine food webs via trophic transfer and carry chemical contaminants that can accumulate in higher predators, including humans. Researchers found that microplastics readily sorb pollutants from surrounding waters and release them after being ingested by organisms, potentially amplifying toxic effects at each level of the food chain. The study underscores the need for more research on bioaccumulation factors and the implications of seafood-mediated microplastic exposure for human health.

2018 Environment International 1310 citations
Article Tier 2

A Summary of the Transporting Mechanism of Microplastics in Marine Food Chain and its Effects to Humans

This review summarized how microplastics are transported through marine food chains from plankton to fish to humans, detailing toxic effects at each trophic level and outlining mitigation strategies to reduce ecological and human health risks from oceanic plastic pollution.

2022 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution: exploring trophic transfer pathways and ecological impacts

Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic fragments under 5 mm — move through food chains across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, turning up in everything from table salt and drinking water to fish and earthworms. The review highlights how microplastics disrupt nutrient cycling and accumulate across trophic levels, calling for stronger management strategies to curb this global pollutant.

2024 Discover Environment 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems

This review covers microplastic contamination in aquatic environments, examining MP sources, distribution pathways, ecotoxicological effects on aquatic organisms, trophic transfer dynamics, and the potential implications for human health through seafood consumption.

2025
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and pathways of microplastics, quantification protocol and adverseeffects of microplastics towards freshwater and seawater biota

This review examines the occurrence, pathways, and adverse effects of microplastics on freshwater and marine organisms, highlighting how these particles can enter the food chain through seafood consumption. The study suggests that microplastic ingestion causes health hazards in aquatic animals and points to gaps in understanding how microplastics affect human health along the food supply chain.

2023 Food Research 11 citations
Article Tier 2

The Impact of Microplastics on Fish Poses a Threat to Human Health

This review summarizes how microplastics ingested by fish accumulate through the food chain, posing a direct threat to human health via consumption of contaminated seafood.

2024
Article Tier 2

Trophic transfer of nanoplastics through a microalgae–crustacean–small yellow croaker food chain: Inhibition of digestive enzyme activity in fish

Researchers tracked how nanoplastics move through a marine food chain from microalgae to crustaceans to fish, demonstrating that plastic particles transfer upward through feeding relationships. The nanoplastics accumulated at each level and ultimately inhibited digestive enzyme activity in the fish. The study suggests that nanoplastics could eventually reach humans through seafood consumption via this same trophic transfer process.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 94 citations
Article Tier 2

The Challenge of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystem: A Review of Current Consensus and Future Trends of the Effect on the Fish

This review synthesizes research on how microplastics affect aquatic ecosystems, covering ingestion by marine animals, trophic transfer up the food chain, and the chemicals that microplastics carry. The findings highlight that microplastic contamination is now widespread enough to threaten marine biodiversity and food security for populations that rely on seafood.

2023 BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS eBooks