‘Very alarming,’ say researchers on detecting microplastics in human ovary follicular fluid

Microplastics are small plastic particles formed after the degradation of plastics and have negative consequences for the environment and human health. Till now there was a growing concern about the chances of microplastics entering the food chain and having health impacts on humans.

Now, for the first time, microplastics have been found in human ovary follicular fluid, raising new questions about the potential impact of the toxic substance on women’s fertility.
A new peer-reviewed research, published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, detected microplastics in the follicular fluid of 14 out of 18 women undergoing assisted reproductive treatment at a fertility clinic in Salerno, Italy.
Follicular fluid provides essential nutrients and biochemical signals for the developing eggs. Contamination with microplastics has implications for fertility, hormonal balance, and overall reproductive health, the authors wrote.

The findings are a major step toward finding out how microplastics impact the reproductive health of women, but are also “very alarming”, said Luigi Montano, a researcher at the University of Rome and study lead author.

“This discovery is an important warning signal about the invasiveness of these emerging contaminants,” the study says.

Microplastics and even smaller nanoplastics have been traced from the top of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and were also found in food.
They are particularly dangerous because they can contain highly toxic compounds like Pfas, bisphenol and phthalates, which are linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, hormone disruption, and developmental toxicity.
Microplastics have been found in the human body and can cross the brain and placental barriers.

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Montano has also detected microplastics in human urine and semen and suspects that microplastics are among the chemicals responsible for poor sperm count and a drop in overall sperm quality.
Men are more susceptible to the toxic effects, but women are also possibly impacted by things like ovarian dysfunction, reduced oocyte maturation, and a lower capacity for fertilisation, he added. 

Montano added that the bisphenol, phthalates, Pfas and other highly toxic chemicals that use microplastics as a “Trojan horse” to get into the body and into the ovaries, are “very dangerous”. They are already known for disrupting hormones and harming women’s reproductive health.

However, more work is needed to determine the dose and level of exposure at which adverse effects start to happen.

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Montano is also spearheading research that is trying to determine how much reduction of plastic use in the kitchen and eating organic diet will reduce the level of microplastics in the body.
Microplastics are difficult to avoid, but reducing the amount of plastic used in the kitchen—from packaging to storage to utensils—will reduce exposures. 
Experts also advise that people should avoid heating plastic or putting hot food and liquid in plastic.

Single-use paper coffee cups shed trillions of bits of plastic when hot liquid is poured in them. Similarly, tea bags release billions of particles. Researchers suggest shunning the use of plastic utensils and instead using wood and stainless steel alternatives, as they are less harmful.