Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insight of neurodegeneration due to micro/nano-plastic-induced gut dysbiosis.

This review provided mechanistic insight into how micro/nano-plastic-induced gut dysbiosis drives neurodegeneration, tracing a pathway from intestinal microbiome disruption to neuroinflammation and brain damage. It identified the gut-brain axis as the critical link between plastic particle exposure and progressive neurodegenerative conditions.

2025 Archives of toxicology
Article Tier 2

Mind over Microplastics: Exploring Microplastic-Induced Gut Disruption and Gut-Brain-Axis Consequences

This review explores how microplastics, which contaminate drinking water and many common foods, may disrupt the gut and trigger inflammation that affects the brain through the gut-brain connection. The evidence suggests that microplastics could be contributing to the rising rates of brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, though more research in humans is needed to confirm this link.

2024 Current Issues in Molecular Biology 86 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Eurasian Journal of Toxicology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Health risk analysis of micro-and nanoplastic exposure via the microbiota-gut-brain axis

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics that accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract may disrupt the microbiota-gut-brain axis through neural, immune, and endocrine pathways. The study suggests that these particles can interfere with normal gut microbiota function after entering the body through diet, inhalation, and skin contact, potentially inducing or worsening health effects.

2026 Frontiers in Immunology
Article Tier 2

Probiotics an emerging therapeutic approach towards gut-brain-axis oriented chronic health issues induced by microplastics: A comprehensive review

This review examines how microplastics disrupt the gut-brain axis, the communication system between the digestive system and the brain, leading to chronic health problems like inflammation and neurological issues. The authors highlight probiotics as a promising treatment approach, since beneficial bacteria can help repair gut damage caused by microplastic exposure. The findings suggest that supporting gut health through probiotics may help counteract some of the harmful effects of microplastics on both digestion and brain function.

2024 Heliyon 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Pesticide exposure and the microbiota-gut-brain axis

This review examines how pesticide exposure can disrupt gut bacteria and, through the gut-brain connection, potentially affect behavior and brain health. Animal studies show that pesticides change the makeup of gut microbes in ways linked to anxiety, depression, and other neurological effects. While focused on pesticides rather than microplastics, the research highlights how environmental chemicals can harm health through the gut.

2023 The ISME Journal 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and the gut-brain axis: Unraveling neurotoxic mechanisms and health implications

This review examines how microplastics interact with the gut-brain axis, a communication network linking the digestive system to the central nervous system. Researchers found that microplastics can disrupt intestinal barrier integrity, alter gut microbiota composition, and trigger systemic inflammation that may affect neurotransmitter balance and brain function. The study suggests that chronic microplastic exposure through the diet could contribute to neurological effects through inflammatory and oxidative stress pathways.

2026 The Innovation Medicine
Article Tier 2

Micro- and Nanoplastics as Emerging Environmental Materials: GreenChemistry Insights into Gut Microbiota Disruption and Chronic DiseasePathways

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and disrupt gut microbiota composition, finding evidence linking these exposures to reduced microbial diversity, gut barrier dysfunction, systemic inflammation, and potential contributions to chronic diseases including metabolic disorders and neurodegeneration.

2026 Current Materials Science
Article Tier 2

Association of gut microbiota composition and function with a senescence-accelerated mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease using 16S rRNA gene and metagenomic sequencing analysis

This study compared gut microbiota composition between a senescence-accelerated mouse model of Alzheimer's disease and normal aging mice, finding distinct differences in microbial communities and functional profiles. While not directly about microplastics, understanding gut microbiome disruption is relevant to research on how microplastic-associated chemical exposures may affect neurodegenerative disease risk.

2018 Aging 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and human health: unveiling the gut microbiome disruption and chronic disease risks

This review summarizes evidence that microplastics disrupt the gut microbiome, the community of bacteria in our digestive system that plays a key role in immunity, metabolism, and overall health. By altering gut bacteria balance and triggering inflammation, microplastic exposure may contribute to chronic conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic disorders, and potentially even neurological problems through the gut-brain connection.

2024 Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 82 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovative mechanisms of micro- and nanoplastic-induced brain injury: Emphasis on the microbiota-gut-brain axis

This review summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics may damage the brain through the gut-brain axis, a communication pathway between the digestive system and the nervous system. Nanoplastics can disrupt gut bacteria and weaken the intestinal barrier, potentially sending inflammatory signals to the brain. The authors suggest that targeting gut health could be a way to reduce brain damage caused by nanoplastic exposure.

2024 Life Sciences 17 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Environment International 64 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastic Impact on the Gut-Brain Axis: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Researchers reviewed the emerging evidence on how nanoplastics may affect the gut-brain axis, the communication pathway between the digestive and nervous systems. Studies indicate that nanoplastic exposure can alter gut microbiota, increase intestinal permeability, trigger oxidative stress and inflammation, and produce neurotoxic and behavioral effects. The review calls for more research given the ubiquitous presence of plastics in the human environment and the potential for nanoplastics to disrupt this critical biological communication pathway.

2021 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular insights into physiological impact of micro- and nano-plastics on the digestive system and gut-brain axis

This review evaluates molecular-level evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics affect the digestive system and the gut-brain axis after ingestion through contaminated food and water. The study describes how these particles accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas, causing oxidative stress, gut microbiota disruption, and compromised intestinal barriers, potentially allowing particles to reach the central nervous system and contribute to neuroinflammatory conditions.

2026 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology
Systematic Review Tier 1

The effects of heavy metal exposure on brain and gut microbiota: A systematic review of animal studies

This systematic review of 16 animal studies found evidence that heavy metal exposure disrupts gut microbiota composition, which may in turn affect brain function through the gut-brain axis. Lead was the most studied metal, and the findings suggest that environmental contaminant-induced gut dysbiosis could mediate neurotoxic effects, a mechanism that may also apply to microplastic exposure.

2024 Environmental Pollution 33 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of microplastics exposure in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

Researchers reviewed the mechanistic links between microplastic and nanoplastic exposure and the two most common neurodegenerative diseases — Alzheimer's and Parkinson's — finding evidence that oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, blood-brain barrier disruption, and protein aggregation are key pathways connecting plastic pollution to neurodegeneration.

2026 Discover Applied Sciences
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota as an emerging target for the health implications of microplastics

This review examines how microplastic exposure disrupts the gut microbiome, finding evidence that microplastics damage intestinal barrier proteins, promote inflammation and oxidative stress, and may drive systemic effects including neurotoxicity and reproductive toxicity through gut-mediated pathways.

2025 Food Science and Human Wellness
Article Tier 2

Advances in research on the pathogenesis and signaling pathways associated with postoperative delirium (Review)

This review examines the causes and biological pathways behind postoperative delirium, a common complication especially in older patients, involving neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and gut-brain signaling. While not focused on microplastics, several pathways discussed, such as neuroinflammation and the gut-brain axis, overlap with mechanisms through which microplastics may affect brain health. Understanding these pathways helps explain how environmental pollutants could contribute to cognitive problems.

2025 Molecular Medicine Reports 7 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Breaching Barriers: Microplastic Translocation into Human Body Through Food and Implications for Neurodegeneration

This systematic review traced how microplastics enter the body through food and potentially reach the brain. Once ingested, these particles can cross the gut barrier, enter the bloodstream, and accumulate in brain tissue, where they may cause oxidative stress and inflammation that could contribute to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

2025 Current Pollution Reports
Article Tier 2

PD-like pathogenesis induced by intestinal exposure to microplastics: An in vivo study of animal models to a public health survey

Researchers found that even low-dose microplastic exposure in mice and worm models accelerated the degeneration of dopamine-producing brain cells and caused movement disorders similar to Parkinson's disease. The microplastics triggered damage through the gut barrier and immune system, causing brain inflammation even without directly entering the brain. A companion public health survey also linked frequent use of disposable plastic tableware to intestinal inflammatory symptoms in people.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Advances on the Impact of Environmental Pollutants on Gut Microbiota

This review synthesizes evidence from animal models, human studies, and mechanistic experiments showing how microplastics, pesticides, and heavy metals each disrupt gut microbiota composition, reduce beneficial bacteria, and compromise intestinal barrier integrity and host health.

2025 Theoretical and Natural Science
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota: an ideal biomarker and intervention strategy for aging

Not relevant to microplastics — this review explores how gut microbiome composition can serve as a biomarker for aging and a target for anti-aging interventions in humans, without addressing plastic pollution.

2023 Microbiome Research Reports 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The role of gut microbiota in MP/NP-induced toxicity

This review summarizes how micro- and nanoplastics disrupt gut bacteria and why that matters for overall health. The tiny plastic particles change the composition and function of the gut microbiome, which can trigger inflammation, weaken the intestinal barrier, and potentially contribute to diseases beyond the gut through the immune and nervous systems.

2024 Environmental Pollution 22 citations