Potential risk assessment and toxicological impacts of nano/micro-plastics on human health through food products

Shahida Anusha Siddiqui; Sipper Khan; Tayyaba Tariq; Aysha Sameen; Asad Nawaz; Noman Walayat; Natalya Pavlovna Oboturova; Tigran Garrievich Ambartsumov; Andrey Ashotovich Nagdalian

doi:10.1016/bs.afnr.2022.07.006

Potential risk assessment and toxicological impacts of nano/micro-plastics on human health through food products

Adv Food Nutr Res. 2023:103:361-395. doi: 10.1016/bs.afnr.2022.07.006. Epub 2023 Jan 9.

Authors

Shahida Anusha Siddiqui¹, Sipper Khan², Tayyaba Tariq³, Aysha Sameen³, Asad Nawaz⁴, Noman Walayat⁵, Natalya Pavlovna Oboturova⁶, Tigran Garrievich Ambartsumov⁶, Andrey Ashotovich Nagdalian⁶

Affiliations

¹ Technical University of Munich Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Straubing, Germany; German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL e.V.), Quakenbrück, Germany. Electronic address: s.siddiqui@dil-ev.de.
² Institute of Agricultural Engineering Tropics and Subtropics Group, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany.
³ National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
⁴ College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Institute for Innovative Development of Food Industry, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
⁵ College of Food Science and Technology, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
⁶ Food Technology and Engineering Department, North Caucasus Federal University, Stavropol, Russia.

PMID: 36863839
DOI: 10.1016/bs.afnr.2022.07.006

Abstract

The problem of environmental pollution with plastic is becoming more and more acute every year. Due to the low rate of decomposition of plastic, its particles get into food and harm the human body. This chapter focuses on the potential risks and toxicological effects of both nano and microplastics on human health. The main places of distribution of various toxicants along with the food chain have been established. The effects of some examples of the main sources of micro/nanoplastics on the human body are also emphasised. The processes of entry and accumulation of micro/nanoplastics are described, and the mechanism of accumulation that occurs inside the body is briefly explained. Potential toxic effects reported from studies on various organisms are highlighted as well.

Keywords: Contamination; Environment; Food; Human health; Plastic intake; Toxic substances.

MeSH terms

Food
Food Chain
Humans
Microplastics*
Plastics*
Risk Assessment

Substances

Plastics
Microplastics