Department of Science, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen Campus, Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand.
PeerJ. 2022 Feb 8;10:e12916. doi: 10.7717/peerj.12916. eCollection 2022.
The presence of plastic particles in freshwater species is becoming a global concern owing to the potential impact on food security and human health. In this study, we investigated the presence microplastics (MPs) in two economically important freshwater species: the giant freshwater prawn () and the white leg shrimp () cultured in a polyculture pond in the central part of Thailand.
The gastrointestinal tract (GT) of 300 giant freshwater prawn (160 female and 140 male) and 150 white leg shrimp specimens were investigated for the presence of MPs.
From the pooled samples, a total of 1,166 MP items were identified. Specifically, the GTs of female and male freshwater prawns and white leg shrimps contained an average of 33.31 ± 19.42, 33.43 ± 19.07, and 11.00 ± 4.60 MP items per individual, respectively. Further, their mean MP contents per g of gut material were 32.66 ± 5.10, 32.14 ± 4.85, and 10.28 ± 1.19 MP items, respectively. In the GT of these species, MPs with sizes in the range 500-1000 µm, were predominant, and white/transparent MPs were most prevalent (63.67%). Furthermore, regarding the morphotypes of the MPs, fibers, fragments, films, and spheres were frequently observed, with fibers shows predominance. Specifically, the proportions of fibers in the GTs of female , male , and were 83.3, 79.91, and 46.06%, respectively. Four MP polymer types, polyethylene, polycaprolactone, polyvinyl alcohol, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, were also identified via FTIR spectroscopy, which further confirmed the presence of MPs in the GT of the freshwater-cultured species.
Our findings indicated that consuming shrimps and prawns without first removing the MPs from their GTs is one of the mean by which humans get exposed to MPs. Thus, MPs in freshwater species can be passed down the food chain to humans.
由于塑料微粒对食品安全和人类健康可能造成的影响，淡水物种中存在塑料微粒正成为全球关注的焦点。在这项研究中，我们调查了两种经济上重要的淡水物种——罗氏沼虾和南美白对虾——体内微塑料（MPs）的存在情况。这些物种在泰国中部的一个混养池塘中养殖。
对 300 只罗氏沼虾（160 只雌性和 140 只雄性）和 150 只南美白对虾的胃肠道（GT）进行了调查，以确定 MPs 的存在情况。
从混合样本中总共鉴定出 1166 个 MPs 物品。具体来说，雌性和雄性罗氏沼虾和南美白对虾的 GT 分别平均含有 33.31±19.42、33.43±19.07 和 11.00±4.60 个 MPs 物品/个体。此外，它们的 GT 中每克肠道组织的 MPs 含量分别为 32.66±5.10、32.14±4.85 和 10.28±1.19 个 MPs 物品。在这些物种的 GT 中，尺寸在 500-1000 µm 之间的 MPs 占主导地位，而白色/透明的 MPs 最为普遍（63.67%）。此外，关于 MPs 的形态类型，纤维、碎片、薄膜和球体经常被观察到，其中纤维占主导地位。具体来说，雌性、雄性和罗氏沼虾 GT 中的纤维比例分别为 83.3%、79.91%和 46.06%。傅里叶变换红外光谱法还鉴定出四种 MP 聚合物类型，即聚乙烯、聚己内酯、聚乙烯醇和丙烯腈-丁二烯-苯乙烯，进一步证实了 GT 中存在 MPs。
我们的研究结果表明，人类摄入未经处理的虾和虾的 GT 是接触 MPs 的一种途径。因此，淡水物种中的 MPs 可以通过食物链传递给人类。
