The toxicity of polyethylene microplastics on molecular and biochemical parameters in albino mice

Microplastics (MPs) pose a growing environmental and health threat.Polyethylene (PE), a common plastic, is increasingly accumulating in the environment and organisms, raising concerns about its potential impact on human health.This study investigated PE-MPs' impact on biochemical and molecular markers in adult male albino mice.Three groups of mice were utilized: one group received distilled water as a control.In contrast, the other groups were administered oral gavage treatments of PE-MPs at dosages of 1.3 mg/kg or 0.6 mg/kg every other day for 45 days.PE-MPs significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels with exposure time, especially at higher doses, inducing significant oxidative stress (P < 0.021) compared to the control group.Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels increased with exposure time (P < 0.0393), especially at lower doses.thus adversely affecting oxidants/antioxidants balance.Moreover, PE-MPs increased T3 and TSH levels significantly elevated in the high-dose group (G1, 1.3 mg/kg) compared to both the low-dose group (G2, 0.6 mg/kg) and the control group.The comet assay confirmed the genotoxic effects on DNA, which were evident through increased DNA damage.This highlights the necessity for more research to examine the health risks associated with environmental microplastics.We can have concluded that, the toxicity of microplastics is dose-dependent, indicating that increased exposure leads to heightened harm.