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com

ScienceDirect

Micro(nano)plastic contaminations from soils to plants:

human food risks
Defu He1,2, Yalin Zhang1,2 and Wei Gao1,2

Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) are emerging contaminations of lethality, reproductive and develop mental toxicity, intes-
growing concern. Although MNPs in terrestrial environments tine oxidative damages, and immune toxicity, and neu-
were widely reported, yet MNPs in the soil-plant system have rotoxicity [9–12]. As emerging persistent contaminants,
not been systematically discussed regarding to human food. MNPs have been listed as one of major environmental
Here, we review MNP contaminations in agricultural soils and issue of growing concern [2,13].
plants. Despite abundance variations, microplastics have been
globally detected in agricultural soils. MNPs can further be Although MPs in marine systems had been largely docu-
uptake by crops, and cause multiple types of adverse effects mented, the terrestrial environment has been considered
on plants including oxidative stress and the decrease of crop as a crucial sink and source of environmental MPs [13,14].
biomass. Through the soil-plant system, MNP contaminations MPs in the soil may be highly underestimated, and were
can entry into human food chains. Our current opinion is that considered to contain 4–23 times MPs larger than in
(micro/nano)plastics can be transferred from soils, plants to marine systems [5]. MPs have been found in various
human food, which poses a potential threat to food safety. types of terrestrial environments including industrialized
or agricultural soils, urban waters, and even remote
Addresses regions [15–18]. MNP contaminations have a particular
1
School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, Shanghai Key property of multiple plastic polymers (e.g. polyethylene,
Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, East
China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
polystyrene, polyurethane, polypropylene, polyvi-
2
nylchloride, polyurethane etc.), diverse shapes (e.g. par-
Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Biotransformation of Organic
ticles, fibers, and films) and sizes [3]. It is due to wide
Solid Waste, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
sources of MPs involved with human activity of plastic
Corresponding author: He, Defu ([email protected]) application in terrestrial environments [5,19].

Current Opinion in Food Science 2021, 41:116–121

In terrestrial environments, MNPs can be uptake by human
beings, annual consumption of MPs per person was
This review comes from a themed issue on Microplastics
assessed in the range from 39 000 to 52 000 particles
Edited by Huahong Shi depending on age and sex, and would increase up to 74
For complete overview of the section, please refer to the article col- 000 and 121 000 when inhalation was considered [20]. MPs-
lection, “Microplastics 2021” contaminated foods were widely documented including
Available online 20th April 2021 table salt, honey, sugar, beer, drinking water, and even
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2021.04.001 animal-based traditional medicinal materials [11,21,22],
which indicates widespread pollution in terrestrial envir-
2214-7993/ã 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
onments. In addition, MPs were found in stools of human
beings [23,24]. Therefore, the potential risk of MNPs on
the health of human beings attracts increasing concern.

The soil-plant system is one of most important envi-

Introduction ronmental compartments in the terrestrial environ-
The wide application of plastic benefits our daily life, but ment, and sustains the global biosphere and provide
causes a vast mass of plastic wastes discharging into the food for human beings. Multiple sources of plastics on
environment [1]. Plastic wastes can be decomposed or the land were likely to increase the occurrence of MPs
disintegrated into smaller fragments by mechanical abra- in soils, especially agricultural soils. In addition, there is
sion, ultraviolet degradation, oxidation, and biotical the possibility of MNPs uptake of plants from soils, and
action [2–4]. The small plastic in the size between 100 transferring to the food chain of human beings
nm and 5000 mm are defined as microplastics (MPs), and [25,26,27]. Despite controversy, the fate of MNPs
the plastic with the size of 1 100 nm are termed as in soil-plant system is one of important issues, and
nanoplastics (NPs). Micro(nano)plastics (MNPs) have closely linkage with food contamination and the health
been widely detected in marine and terrestrial environ- of human beings [28]. In this paper, we review the
ments [5–8]. Furthermore, the presence of MNPs was progress about MNPs in agricultural soils, plant uptake,
frequently reported in the body of organisms, and and the potential food contamination, and further pro-
induced multiple types of toxic effects including pose opinions on this issue.

Current Opinion in Food Science 2021, 41:116–121 www.sciencedirect.com

 The risk of micro(nano)plastics transferring from soil to crop and human food He, Zhang and Gao 117

Table 1

Microplastics in agricultural soils

Locations Mean (or Abundance Soil types Soil Shapes (%) Size range Polymers References
median) range depth
abundance
Shanghai, 70 (62.5  13 to Vegetable 0 6 Fiber (53.33%, 0.03 5 mm PP (50.51%), PE [6]
China 78  12.9) farmland cm fragment (38%), film (43%), PES
(7%), granule
Franconia, 0.34  0.36 0 1.25 Farmland 5 cm Film (43.75%), 1 5 mm PE (62.55), PP [16]
Germany fragment (43.75%), (255), PS (12.55)
fiber
Mellipilla, 2010 1100 3500 Agricultural 25 Fiber (97%), Pellet, <2 mm / [37]
Chile fields cm fragment, film
Nanjing and 855 420 1290 Agriculture / Fiber (38.9 65.1%), <5 mm PE, PP, PET, PAN [38]
Wuxi, China land soil fragment (0.02 0.25 mm,
domain)
Wuhan, 16 000 4300 62 000 Vegetable 5 cm Fragment (52%), bead 10 5000 mm PE (36.1%), PP [39]
China plots soil (14%), fiber (13.8%) (10 500 mm, (11.5%), PS, PA,
99.5%) PVC
Hangzhou, 503.3 2760 Agricultural 10 Fragment, fiber 1 3 mm PE, PP, PET [30]
China soils cm
Wuhan, 2020 320 12 560 Vegetable 5 cm Fiber, bead 0.02 5 mm PA (32.5%), PP [31]
China farmland (<0.2 mm, 70%) (28.8%)
soil
Shaanxi, 2420 1430 3410 Agricultural 10 Fiber, granule <5 mm PET, PP [22]
China soils cm
Washington, 1270  150 Vegetated 5 cm Fiber, fragment 75 mm–5 mm PS (29%), PE (8%), [40]
USA wetlands synthetic rubber
soil (8%)
Xinjiang, 308  138.1 80.3  49.3 to Agricultural 40 Fragment, Film <5 mm PE [41]
China 1075.6  346.8 soil cm
Spain 2030 Agricultural 30 Fragment (80%), fiber, 0.05 5 mm [42]
soils cm film
Heilongjiang, 107 0 800 Farmland 30 0.05 5 mm Only including [29]
China mollisol cm LDPE

Unit of microplastics: items/kg (dry weight of soil).

MNPs in agricultural soils pollution in agricultural soils. According to available data

Agricultural land is the largest use of land on the planet, (Table 1), the mean abundance of MPs varied largely in
and occupies about 38% of the globally terrestrial surface. global agricultural soils, in the range from 0.34 to 16
Although numerous studies documented plastic residue 000 items kg 1. Despite diversity, fiber and fragment
in croplands [29], MPs contamination in agricultural soils are major shapes. For instance, Zhang and Liu [18]
has not been quantified until recently. Liu et al. [6] first reported that fibers accounted for average 92% of MPs
reported that the abundance of MPs was 78 and 62 items in soils, followed by fragment and film, and no beads and
kg 1 (dry weight) in shallow and deep soil layers of foams were detected. However, Zhang et al. [34] reported
suburban farmland in Shanghai, China. The MP abun- that fragments accounted for 29–86%, while fibers and
dance has been reported at 571 and 263 items kg 1 for films accounted for 13–71% and 1.6–31%, respectively. In
mulching and non-mulching soils on the coastal plain of addition, PP, PE, PES, PET, and PVC are most frequently
Hangzhou Bay, respectively [30]. It implies that plastic found polymer types of MPs. For example, the percen-
mulch film is one of major sources of MPs in farmland tages of PP, PE, PET, and PES MPs in farmland were 51–
soils, as China currently consumes an estimated 1.25–1.4 59%, 8–43%, 3%, and 6% [6,34]. MP shape and sizes would
million tons of film application annually, covering approx- change within different soil layers, MP films and fragments
imately 20 million hectares of China’s farmland (http:// preferred to accumulate in the deep soil in comparison of
www.stats.gov.cn/english/). Another study showed the the shallow soil [6]. Around 95% of soil MPs are in a small
abundance of MPs ranging from 320 to12 560 items size (0.05–1 mm), and only 5% of MPs are larger than 1 mm
kg 1 in vegetable farmland in the suburbs of Wuhan [18]. Among them, the most size of frequently occurred
[31]. These studies show that MPs are common soil MPs is i0.05–0.25 mm, accounting for 82%. Nevertheless,
contaminants, despite a great disparity in pollution levels. so far NPs have not been detected in these studies, due to
unavailability of separating and identifying methods [35].
Some review papers have summarized the occurrence of Nanoplastics can be generated through fragmentation of
MPs in different type of soils [32,33], and we focus on MP microplastics by soil animals such as earthworms [36].

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118 Microplastics

Intake of MNPs by plants shoot and root biomass, while Bio-MPs, that is, polylactic
Agricultural soils provide 98.8% of global calorie con- acid mixed with poly-butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate
sumption of human being, crop plants are one of the significantly inhibited the root and shoot biomass, sug-
main sources of food calorie [43]. Nevertheless, wide- gesting a potential threat of Bio-MPs to soil-plant systems
spread distribution of MPs in soils cast a big risk of the [51]. In addition, the chemical composition of plastic
transfer of MPs from soils to the food chain, and mostly residues would also influence the soil environment. When
via MP contamination of crops. In addition, MPs would interacted with water such as rainfall, liquid fertilizers,
influence soil property and plant growth, and induce long- and irrigation, compounds within MPs may leach into the
term effects on soil health. soil. Actually, multiple types of additive components are
usually incorporated into the polymer backbone essential
It is highly concerned about the matter of the uptake of for the final product plastics. These additives including
MNPs by crop plants, which has been reported recently. dyes, antioxidants, plasticizers, and photostabilizers can
The study of Sun et al. [27] provided direct evidence easily leach and release into soil environments. For exam-
that nanoplastics of 100 nm can accumulate in plants, ple, phthalate esters have been widely found in soils [52],
depending on their surface charge. They revealed that and have a high possibility of subsequent absorption and
cracks at the emerging sites of new lateral roots of lettuce accumulation by cultivated plants. Therefore, MNPs
and wheat crops can take in MPs from the surrounding could affect physicochemical property of the soil and soil
soil and water. In addition, Giorgetti et al. [44] demon- animals and microorganisms, and have indirect impacts
strated that 50 nm PS NPs could be detected in the root on plant development, especially entailing risks to agroe-
compartments of Allium cepa. Another study also showed cosystems [53] (Figure 1).
that 100 700 nm polystyrene nanoplastics can size-
dependently accumulate in the root system of cucumber In addition, MNPs can directly induce adverse effects on
plants [45]. In recent, Li et al. revealed the uptake of plants, which have been elaborated in recent studies
micrometre-sized polystyrene particles by crop plants [23,38]. For instance, the biomass of crop plants signifi-
[46]. After treated wastewater in hydroponic culture cantly decreased, and the chlorophyll a/b, soluble sugar,
sand matrices or sandy soils, microplastics were found carotenoid, and proline content were significantly
in crops of wheat and lettuce planted. They showed a reduced after exposure of polystyrene nanoplastics in
crack-entry pathway caused the efficient uptake of micro- soils [26,27]. The 300-nm plastic microspheres could
plastics. This finding highlights the modes of interaction significantly induce the increase of root activity and
with plastic particle and plants, especially when crop malondialdehyde and proline content of the roots of
plants grow in soils contaminated with wastewater or cucumber plants [38]. Moreover, NPs could reduce the
sewage sludges. By contrast, another study did not find
evidence of the uptake of MPs or NPs into roots [47], Figure 1
suggesting that clearly more experiments using soil-plant
systems are needed [19]. Yet, these studies suggest that
there is a possible risk of MNPs transferring from soils
into plant roots, and then further transferring up to stem,
fruit, and other edible parts of crops. Therefore, it is a
high possibility of MNPs gaining entry into the food chain
of human beings.

Effects of MNPs on plants

The occurrence of MNPs can subsequently influence soil
biophysical environments, and further have impacts on
plants. For example, de Souza Machado et al. found that
MPs affected bulk density, water holding capacity,
hydraulic conductivity and water stable aggregated base
on four common microplastic types in soils [48]. In
another study, the bulk density, porosity, saturated
hydraulic conductivity, field capacity and soil water repel-
lency significantly altered when the presence of the four
kinds of plastic debris in both macro-sizes and micro-sizes
[49]. Qi et al. found that the rhizosphere bacterial com-
munities were significantly affected by the presence of
plastic mulch films, indicating biotic and abiotic impacts
of plastic residues on the soil-plant system [50]. A recent The overview of direct and indirect impacts of soil micro(nano)plastics
study found LDPE MPs showed no significant effects on (MNPs) on plants.

Current Opinion in Food Science 2021, 41:116–121 www.sciencedirect.com

 The risk of micro(nano)plastics transferring from soil to crop and human food He, Zhang and Gao 119

biomass ratio of shoot to root of wheat seedlings after soil distribute within the profile of soils. Despite diver-
exposure [54], which is consistent with inhibitory effects gence, some studies have proved that MNPs can be
of NPs on plants [27]. In addition, MPs were demon- take into crop plants [30,41]. Consequently, MNPs can
strated to act as a vector for transferring heavy metal to the further contaminate food after crops are harvested.
rhizosphere zone in soil-plant systems, and can poten- Therefore, plastic can return to humans via MNPs-
tially enhance the threat to environment and health [55]. contained food of vegetables and fruits [57]. We sug-
The total indirect and direct impacts of MNPs on plants is gests that there is a potential transferring pathway of
summarized in Figure 1. (micro/nano)plastics from humans, soils, plants and to
human food (Figure 2).
The effects of MNPs on plants are hypothesized with the
characteristics of size-dependent, and NPs and small MPs are
highly toxic due to small sizes and big-specific surface areas, A recent publication has documented that microplastics
and with a high possibility of entry into the root of plants, in are found in feces of human beings [23], which confirms
comparison of big-sized MPs [27,46]. In addition, MNPs that we do actually ingest MNPs. The contaminated food
in the environment is usually accompanied with other organic including vegetables and fruits can be one of MNP
pollutants, and their immigration via sorption/desorption can sources of human consumption. Based on animal experi-
cause the ‘Trojan-Horse effect’ in water-soil-plant systems, ments, researchers have hypothesized that human expo-
which can have a wide impact on crop plants [56]. sure to MNPs could lead to oxidative stress, DNA dam-
age, inflammation, and other adverse effects [8,9,58].
Researchers have observed the uptake of MPs by endo-
MNPs transferring in human-soil-plant system cytosis in rodents without any disruption of the intestinal
threats food safety barrier. Moreover, NPs were found to penetrate deeply
Large amounts of plastic are used in human activity into other organs such as liver, spleen, lungs, and brain
including agriculture, industry and others. Sludge, [59–61]. It implies that the small MPs or NPs can pass
mulching, wastewater irrigation, and other plastic appli- across the gut barrier and the blood-brain barrier [62]. The
cations are major sources of plastics in the surface of potential health risks of MNPs have actually attracted
soils [5,13]. Plastic litter can further fragment and break increasing attentions, especially through the pathway of
up into micro-plastics and nano-plastics, which can the soil-plant-food system.

Figure 2

(Micro/nano)plastics (MNPs) transferring in the system of humans, soils, plants and food.

www.sciencedirect.com Current Opinion in Food Science 2021, 41:116–121

120 Microplastics

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