Background: Microplastics are ubiquitous in natural environments. Ingestion of microplastics has been described in marine organisms, whereby particles may enter the food chain. Objective: To examine human feces for the presence of microplastics to determine whether humans involuntarily ingest them. Design: Prospective case series in which participants completed a food diary and sampled stool according to step-by-step instructions. Setting: Europe and Asia. Participants: Eight healthy volunteers aged 33 to 65 years. Measurements: After chemical digestion, Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy was used to analyze the presence and shape of 10 common types of microplastic in stool samples. Results: All 8 stool samples tested positive for microplastics. A median of 20 microplastics (50 to 500 µm in size) per 10 g of human stool were identified. Overall, 9 plastic types were detected, with polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate being the most abundant. Limitations: There were few participants, and each provided only 1 sample. The origin and fate of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract were not investigated. Conclusion: Various microplastics were detected in human stool, suggesting inadvertent ingestion from different sources. Further research on the extent of microplastic intake and the potential effect on human health is needed. Primary Funding Source: None.
Background: Microplastics are ubiquitous in natural environments. Ingestion of microplastics has been described in marine organisms, whereby particles may enter the food chain. Objective: To examine human feces for the presence of microplastics to determine whether humans involuntarily ingest them. Design: Prospective case series in which participants completed a food diary and sampled stool according to step-by-step instructions. Setting: Europe and Asia. Participants: Eight healthy volunteers aged 33 to 65 years. Measurements: After chemical digestion, Fourier-transform infrared microspectroscopy was used to analyze the presence and shape of 10 common types of microplastic in stool samples. Results: All 8 stool samples tested positive for microplastics. A median of 20 microplastics (50 to 500 µm in size) per 10 g of human stool were identified. Overall, 9 plastic types were detected, with polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate being the most abundant. Limitations: There were few participants, and each provided only 1 sample. The origin and fate of microplastics in the gastrointestinal tract were not investigated. Conclusion: Various microplastics were detected in human stool, suggesting inadvertent ingestion from different sources. Further research on the extent of microplastic intake and the potential effect on human health is needed. Primary Funding Source: None.
Authors: Philip J Landrigan; John J Stegeman; Lora E Fleming; Denis Allemand; Donald M Anderson; Lorraine C Backer; Françoise Brucker-Davis; Nicolas Chevalier; Lilian Corra; Dorota Czerucka; Marie-Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein; Barbara Demeneix; Michael Depledge; Dimitri D Deheyn; Charles J Dorman; Patrick Fénichel; Samantha Fisher; Françoise Gaill; François Galgani; William H Gaze; Laura Giuliano; Philippe Grandjean; Mark E Hahn; Amro Hamdoun; Philipp Hess; Bret Judson; Amalia Laborde; Jacqueline McGlade; Jenna Mu; Adetoun Mustapha; Maria Neira; Rachel T Noble; Maria Luiza Pedrotti; Christopher Reddy; Joacim Rocklöv; Ursula M Scharler; Hariharan Shanmugam; Gabriella Taghian; Jeroen A J M van de Water; Luigi Vezzulli; Pál Weihe; Ariana Zeka; Hervé Raps; Patrick Rampal Journal: Ann Glob Health Date: 2020-12-03 Impact factor: 2.462
Authors: Seth D Merkley; Harrison C Moss; Samuel M Goodfellow; Christina L Ling; Jewel L Meyer-Hagen; John Weaver; Matthew J Campen; Eliseo F Castillo Journal: Cell Biol Toxicol Date: 2021-05-22 Impact factor: 6.691
Authors: Giuseppa Visalli; Alessio Facciolà; Marianna Pruiti Ciarello; Giuseppe De Marco; Maria Maisano; Angela Di Pietro Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-05-28 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Outi Keinänen; Eric J Dayts; Cindy Rodriguez; Samantha M Sarrett; James M Brennan; Mirkka Sarparanta; Brian M Zeglis Journal: Sci Rep Date: 2021-06-01 Impact factor: 4.379