Casella Claudio, Cornelli Umberto, Ballaz Santiago, Recchia Martino, Zanoni Giuseppe, Ramos-Guerrero Luis
Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Lombardy, Italy.
School of Medicine, Loyola University, Chicago, IL 60660, USA.
Foods. 2025 Jun 23;14(13):2190. doi: 10.3390/foods14132190.
Recent studies have indicated that microplastics (MPs) may accumulate in the human body, potentially posing health risks. This preliminary study aimed to investigate the effect of a food supplement (FS: 0.8 g of chitosan derived from , PCC) on the fecal excretion of MPs (20-500 µm size) following ingestion of a standardized meal (SM). Ten healthy volunteers (non-smokers, non-drinkers, non-drug users) participated in a two-phase, crossover design conducted one week apart. In both phases, participants consumed an SM after overnight fasting, and fecal samples were collected the following morning (7-10 am). Phase 1 served as baseline (no PCC), while in Phase 2, PCC was administered immediately before the SM. Sixteen types of MPs were analyzed. A modest increase (5%) in fecal mass was observed after PCC intake. MP counts were 356 in the SM, 656 ± 110 in Phase 1 feces, and 965 ± 165 in Phase 2 feces. The excretion of nine MPs-PA, PAN, PAM, PE, PES, PET, PP, PS, and RA-was enhanced by PCC. These preliminary findings suggest that PCC promotes the fecal elimination of MPs. Further controlled studies are needed to validate these results and assess their potential relevance for dietary interventions.
近期研究表明，微塑料（MPs）可能在人体中蓄积，从而潜在地构成健康风险。这项初步研究旨在探究一种食品补充剂（FS：0.8克来源于PCC的壳聚糖）对摄入标准餐（SM）后MPs（尺寸为20 - 500微米）粪便排泄的影响。十名健康志愿者（不吸烟、不饮酒、不吸毒）参与了一项为期两周、间隔一周的交叉设计研究。在两个阶段中，参与者均在空腹过夜后食用标准餐，并于次日上午（7 - 10点）收集粪便样本。第一阶段作为基线（不摄入PCC），而在第二阶段，在食用标准餐之前立即给予PCC。分析了16种微塑料。摄入PCC后观察到粪便量有适度增加（5%）。标准餐中的微塑料计数为356个，第一阶段粪便中的微塑料计数为656 ± 110个，第二阶段粪便中的微塑料计数为965 ± 165个。PCC可促进九种微塑料——PA、PAN、PAM、PE、PES、PET、PP、PS和RA的排泄。这些初步研究结果表明PCC可促进微塑料的粪便排出。需要进一步的对照研究来验证这些结果，并评估其与饮食干预的潜在相关性。
