Are microplastics contributing to pollution-induced neurotoxicity? A pilot study with wild fish in a real scenario

Are microplastics contributing to pollution-induced neurotoxicity? A pilot study with wild fish in a real scenario

Pollution-induced neurotoxicity is of high concern. This pilot study investigated the potential relationship between the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the brain of 180 wild fish (Dicentrarchus labrax, Platichthys flesus, Mugil cephalus) from a contaminated estuary and the activity of the acetyl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heliyon Vol. 9; no. 1; p. e13070
Main Authors: Barboza, Luís Gabriel A., Otero, Xosé L., Fernández, Ezequiel V., Vieira, Luís R., Fernandes, José O., Cunha, Sara C., Guilhermino, Lúcia
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2023
Elsevier
Subjects:
AChE activity
Brain
Microplastics
Neurotoxicity
One health
Wild fish
AChE activity
Brain
Neurotoxicity
One health
Microplastics
Wild fish
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Summary:Pollution-induced neurotoxicity is of high concern. This pilot study investigated the potential relationship between the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the brain of 180 wild fish (Dicentrarchus labrax, Platichthys flesus, Mugil cephalus) from a contaminated estuary and the activity of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme. MPs were found in 9 samples (5% of the total), all of them from D. labrax collected in the summer, which represents 45% of the samples of this species collected in that season (20). Seventeen MPs were recovered from brain samples, with sizes ranging from 8 to 96 μm. Polyacrylamide, polyacrylic acid and one biopolymer (zein) were identified by Micro-Raman spectroscopy. Fish with MPs showed lower (p ≤ 0.05) AChE activity than those where MPs were not found. These findings point to the contribution of MPs to the neurotoxicity induced by long-term exposure to pollution, stressing the need of further studies on the topic to increase ‘One Health’ protection. [Display omitted]
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ISSN:2405-8440
2405-8440
DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13070