Siddiqui Shahida Anusha, Singh Shubhra, Bahmid Nur Alim, Shyu Douglas J H, Domínguez Rubén, Lorenzo Jose M, Pereira Jorge A M, Câmara José S
Technical University of Munich Campus Straubing for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Essigberg 3, 94315 Straubing, Germany; German Institute of Food Technologies (DIL e.V.), Prof.-von-Klitzing Str. 7, 49610 D Quakenbrück, Germany.
Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, 91201, Taiwan.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Sep 20;892:164531. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164531. Epub 2023 May 31.
Polystyrene (PS) is a crucial material for modern plastic manufacturers, but its widespread use and direct discard in the environment severely affect the food chain. This review provides a detailed study on the impact of PS microplastics (PS-MPs) on the food chain and the environment, including information on their mechanism, degradation process, and toxicity. The accumulation of PS-MPs in organisms' different organs leads to various adverse reactions, such as reduced body weight, premature deaths, pulmonary diseases, neurotoxicity, transgenerational issues, oxidative stress, metabolic alterations, ecotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and other dysfunctions. These consequences affect diverse elements in the food chain, spanning from aquatic species to mammals and humans. The review also addresses the need for sustainable plastic waste management policies and technological developments to prevent the adverse impacts of PS-MPs on the food chain. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of developing a precise, flexible, and effective methodology for extracting and quantifying PS-MPs in food, considering their characteristics like particle size, polymer types, and forms. While several studies have focused on the toxicity of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) in aquatic species, further investigation is required to understand the mechanisms by which they are transferred across multiple trophic levels. Therefore, this article serves as the first comprehensive review, examining the mechanism, degradation process, and toxicity of PS-MPs. It presents an analysis of the current research landscape of PS-MPs in the global food chain, providing insights for future researchers and governing organizations to adopt better approaches to managing PS-MPs and preventing their adverse impacts on the food chain. As far as we know this is the first article on this specific and impactant topic.
聚苯乙烯（PS）是现代塑料制造商的关键材料，但其在环境中的广泛使用和直接丢弃严重影响了食物链。本综述详细研究了聚苯乙烯微塑料（PS-MPs）对食物链和环境的影响，包括其作用机制、降解过程和毒性等信息。PS-MPs在生物体不同器官中的积累会导致各种不良反应，如体重减轻、过早死亡、肺部疾病、神经毒性、跨代问题、氧化应激、代谢改变、生态毒性、免疫毒性和其他功能障碍。这些后果影响了食物链中的各种元素，从水生物种到哺乳动物和人类。该综述还讨论了制定可持续塑料废物管理政策和技术发展的必要性，以防止PS-MPs对食物链产生不利影响。此外，鉴于PS-MPs的粒径、聚合物类型和形态等特征，强调了开发一种精确、灵活且有效的方法来提取和定量食品中PS-MPs的重要性。虽然已有多项研究聚焦于聚苯乙烯微塑料（PS-MPs）对水生物种的毒性，但仍需要进一步研究以了解它们在多个营养级之间转移的机制。因此，本文作为第一篇全面综述，研究了PS-MPs的作用机制、降解过程和毒性。它分析了全球食物链中PS-MPs的当前研究状况，为未来的研究人员和管理组织提供见解，以便采用更好的方法来管理PS-MPs并防止其对食物链产生不利影响。据我们所知，这是关于这个特定且重要主题的第一篇文章。
