Occurrence of microplastics and disturbance of gut microbiota: a pilot study of preschool children in Xiamen, China

作者：Dandan Ke, Jianheng Zheng, Xinyuan Liu, Xin Xu, Long Zhao, Yiying Gu, Ruoru Yang, Shaojie Liu, Shuyu Yang, Jun Du, Chen Bo, Gengsheng He, Ruihua Dong · 发表于：EBioMedicine · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104828 · 被引用次数：100 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution、Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals、biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties

BACKGROUND: Microplastics (MPs) have garnered widespread attention because of their presence in human placenta, stool, and even blood. Ingestion is considered the major route of human exposure to MPs. It has been found that the consumption of food and water is associated with more MP abundance in human stools. The usage of plastic containers, particularly feeding bottles, may be a major contributor to MP contamination. However, human exposure to MPs and potential factors that influence exposure, especially for preschoolers, remains largely unknown. When exposed to MPs, mice exhibited gut microbiota dysbiosis, including alterations in diversity indices, a decreased relative abundance of probiotics and an increased abundance of pathogenic bacteria. Such results have also been observed in human gut in vitro models, however, the actual association between MP exposure and human intestinal microbiota remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate MP concentrations in preschoolers' stools, explore possible dietary factors that influence preschooler exposure to MPs, and investigate their potential association with the gut microbiota. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Xiamen, China in October 2022. We investigated the feeding behaviours and dietary habits of preschool children. A total of 69 couples of stool samples were collected and analyzed for MPs test and gut microbiota analysis. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) was ...