Graphic abstract. Credit: Science of the total environment (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173522
A team of public health researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in China found microplastics in the semen of every sample they tested. In their research, published in the journal Science of the total environmentthe group looked for microplastics in semen samples obtained from 36 healthy adult men.
Previous research has shown that microplastics are found almost everywhere: on mountain peaks, remote islands, in the upper atmosphere and in the depths of the world’s oceans. They have also been found in every organ of the human body.
In a recent discovery, scientists discovered that the average person consumes plastic in amounts equivalent to about one credit card per week. The researchers note that plastics can enter the body in several ways, such as drinking from water bottles, inhaling air particles or eating food heated in plastic containers. They further note that it is now virtually impossible for people to avoid ingesting microplastics.
The health consequences remain unknown, but many scientists around the world are investigating and suspect that microplastic ingestion may be the cause of many inflammatory diseases.
In this new effort, the research team wondered whether ingested microplastics could be behind the global decline in fertility rates. To find out, they recruited 36 healthy adult men from the city of Jinan, in eastern China, who did not work in the plastics industry. Each of them donated a sample of sperm for testing.
Each of the samples was prepared by mixing it with a chemical solution and then filtered for analysis by a team member using a microscope. The researchers found microplastics in every sample. They also found eight types of plastic, the most common of which was polystyrene, which is commonly used in packaging foam.
The team also found lower sperm motility in the semen samples containing plastic pieces of polyvinyl chloride, a finding that may help explain the drop in fertility rates.
More information:
Ning Li et al., Prevalence and implications of microplastic contaminants in general human seminal fluid: a Raman spectroscopic study, Science of the total environment (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173522
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Quote: Microplastics found in every semen sample tested by research team (2024, June 7) retrieved June 8, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-microplastics-semen-sample-team.html
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