The occurrence of microplastic in specific organs in commercially caught fishes from coast and estuary area of east China

It is important to understand where microplastics go in the body of organisms. They can readily affect target organs and
transport microplastic-associated chemicals to humans via consumption. The plastics (> 20 μm) in guts and gills of 13
species of fishes from coast estuary areas of China were examined for the presence of microplastics. Muscle and liver
were analyzed from a commercial species, the Asian seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus), of which 73% of the suspected
items were verified by micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. We targeted the organ specific distribution of
microplastics. Microplastics were detected in gut and gills in 22%-100% and 22%-89% of total individuals, respectively.
Microplastics in gut varied from 0.3 to 5.3 items/ind. and varied from 0.3 to 2.6 items/ind in gill, respectively. The size
of microplastics in gills were smaller than those found in the guts. No microplastics were detected in the liver or muscle
tissue of L. maculatus, and several non-plastic items detected in muscles can be attributed to background contamination.
Further research is required using a larger number of specimens and better quality control and quality assurance are
required to assess the presence of small microplastics or nanoplastics in fishes internal organs and muscle.
刊物名称: 
Journal of Hazardous Materials
年: 
2019
卷期: 
365
页码: 
716-724
作者: 
Su, Lei; Deng, Hua; Li, Bowen; Chen, Qiqing; Pettigrove, Vincent; Wu, Chenxi; Shi, Huahong