Arias-González Andrés Felipe, Gómez-Méndez Luis David, Sáenz-Aponte Adriana
Laboratorio de Control Biológico, Grupo de Biología de Plantas y Sistemas Productivos, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cra/# 43-82, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia.
Laboratorio de Microbiología Ambiental y de Suelos, Grupo de Biotecnología Ambiental e Industrial (GBAI), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá D.C. 110231, Colombia.
Insects. 2024 Aug 28;15(9):645. doi: 10.3390/insects15090645.
The accumulation and unsustainable management of plastic waste generate environmental pollution that affects ecosystems, wildlife, and human health. We studied the possibility of using the consumption and digestion of oxo-biodegradable, compostable plastics and polypropylene from face masks by the fifth-instar larvae of as a strategy for the sustainable management of plastic waste. We used Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) to determine the percentage of consumption and presence of microplastics in the digestive tract and excreta for 10 treatments evaluated for 135 h. The effects of plastics on the continuity of the life cycle of the greater hive moth were also determined. We established that the larvae fragmented and consumed 35.2 ± 23% of the plastics evaluated, with significant differences between treatments. Larvae were able to consume more of the intermediate layers of masks (86.31%) than the other plastics. However, none of the plastics were digested. Instead, microplastics accumulated in the excreta, resulting in nutritional deficits that affected the continuity of the life cycle, including the induction of the early formation of pupae after 24 h and a reduction in the number of eggs laid by the females.
塑料垃圾的积累和不可持续管理造成了环境污染，影响着生态系统、野生动物和人类健康。我们研究了利用大蜡螟五龄幼虫消耗和消化可氧化生物降解的可堆肥塑料以及口罩中的聚丙烯，作为塑料垃圾可持续管理策略的可能性。我们使用傅里叶变换红外光谱法（FTIR）来确定在135小时内对10种处理进行评估时，消化道和排泄物中塑料的消耗百分比以及微塑料的存在情况。还确定了塑料对大蜡螟生命周期连续性的影响。我们发现，幼虫将所评估塑料的35.2±23%进行了破碎和消耗，各处理之间存在显著差异。幼虫能够消耗比其他塑料更多的口罩中间层（86.31%）。然而，没有一种塑料被消化。相反，微塑料在排泄物中积累，导致营养缺乏，影响了生命周期的连续性，包括在24小时后诱导蛹的早期形成以及雌虫产卵数量减少。
