Microplastics linked to gut changes, raise depression and cancer risk

A recent study led by Austria’s Center for Biomarker Research in Medicine (CBmed) has demonstrated that microplastics—plastic particles smaller than 5mm—can alter the human gut microbiome in ways linked to serious health conditions such as depression and colorectal cancer. Using ex vivo gut microbiome cultures derived from stool samples of five healthy volunteers, researchers exposed these cultures to five common types of microplastics at concentrations ranging from typical human exposure to higher doses. While total bacterial counts remained stable, the microplastics caused a drop in pH, indicating altered bacterial metabolism, and induced shifts in the composition of key bacterial families within the gut, particularly those in the Bacillota phylum, which plays a crucial role in digestion and gut health. These bacterial changes corresponded with altered levels of metabolic compounds like valeric acid and lactic acid, suggesting that microplastics may interfere chemically or physically with bacterial processes, possibly by providing new niches through biofilm formation. The observed microbiome alterations