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TUESDAY, Oct. 23, 2018 – There is a good chance that a dose of tiny plastic particles has settled in your gut, according to a new small study.
Researchers have reported that microplastics, as they are called, have been found in stool samples from a handful of volunteers located in Europe and Asia.
Each person on the group of 8 had microplastics in their stool, averaging about 20 particles per 3.5 ounces of stool, said Dr. Philipp Schwabl, author of the study, a researcher at the Medical University of Vienna.
More than 95% of the particles came from plastics used in the packaging and storage of food. They included polypropylene used in bottle caps, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used in beverage bottles, polystyrene in cookware and plastic cups, and polyethylene used in plastic bags and storage containers.
Schwabl said he found the data "amazing".
"I think that trying to reduce the use of plastic and plastic-wrapped food could be beneficial for nature and for us," Schwabl said. "Certainly, plastic is a very useful material and has many smart applications, but perhaps we should try to rethink the need for abundant use of plastic, and look for and support environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives."
It is too early to say if these plastic particles could harm humans, said Schwabl and other experts.
"We are seeing more and more evidence that this is in humans, and we need to think about the impact this will have on human health," said Dr. Kenneth Spaeth, head of occupational medicine and health. of the environment at Northwell Health in Great Neck, NY. "We know that plastics contain a range of potentially harmful substances that, in other known contexts, can escape and potentially affect human health."
The new study follows a report published last week that 90% of table salt is found in microplastics. Salt samples from 21 countries from Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia were analyzed. of 39 salt brands tested, 36 microplastics containing National Geographic reported.
For the stool study, Schwabl and his team recruited a test subject in Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia and Japan. The group consisted of three women and five men aged 33 to 65 years.
Each person kept a food diary during the week before providing a stool sample. Newspapers showed that all participants had consumed food packaged in plastic or drunk plastic bottles. Six had eaten sea fish.
The laboratory tests revealed microplastic particles of 9 out of 10 plastic types, with sizes ranging from 50 to 500 microns. A human hair has a diameter of about 50 microns.
Other types of plastic include polyoxymethylene (automotive parts and food industry), polycarbonate (construction and electronics), nylon (rope, fishing nets and textiles) and polyurethane (varnish for ships, construction parts and automobiles).
According to Schwabl, there are several ways in which these plastic particles could end up inside people.
Microplastics are found in foods through plastic packaging, or could be introduced into the food chain by being consumed by marine life, he said.
"In our study, most participants drank liquids contained in plastic bottles, but eating fish and seafood was also common," Schwabl said.
Schwabl explained that no human studies indicate how microplastics could affect human health. But animal studies have shown that microplastic particles are able to penetrate the blood, lymphatic system and liver.
In the intestine, microplastics may cause damage to the intestine or change the shape of the villi that line the intestinal wall, said Dr. Arun Swaminath, director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
According to Spaeth, there are also concerns about endocrine disrupting chemicals in these plastics. Human studies have shown that these chemicals can be leached from plastics in foods that people eat or in airborne dust.
"Clearly, the potential for direct exposure could be more important in our digestive tract," Spaeth said.
The results were presented Monday at the annual meeting of United European Gastroenterology in Vienna. Such research is considered preliminary until it is published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Schwabl and his team hope to do more follow-up studies to verify their findings and further explore the potential effects on human health.
More information
The Environmental Protection Agency has more on plastics and health.
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