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Article

Visual Observation of Polystyrene Microplastics/Nanoplastics in Peanut Seedlings and Their Effects on Growth and the Antioxidant Defense System

College of Agriculture, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, China
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Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2025, 15(8), 1895; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081895
Submission received: 10 July 2025 / Revised: 1 August 2025 / Accepted: 5 August 2025 / Published: 6 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Collection Crop Physiology and Stress)

Abstract

Peanut cultivation is widely practiced using plastic mulch film, resulting in the accumulation of microplastics/nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) in agricultural soils, potentially negatively affecting peanut growth. To investigate the effects of two polystyrene (PS) sizes (5 μm, 50 nm) and three concentrations (0, 10, and 100 mg L−1) on peanut growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and physiological characteristics, a 15-day hydroponic experiment was conducted using peanut seedlings as the experimental material. The results indicated that PS-MPs/NPs inhibited peanut growth, reduced soil and plant analyzer development (SPAD) values (6.7%), and increased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA, 22.0%), superoxide anion (O2, 3.8%) superoxide dismutase (SOD, 16.1%) and catalase (CAT, 12.1%) activity, and ascorbic acid (ASA, 12.6%) and glutathione (GSH, 9.1%) contents compared to the control. Moreover, high concentrations (100 mg L−1) of PS-MPs/NPs reduced the peanut shoot fresh weight (16.1%) and SPAD value (7.2%) and increased levels of MDA (17.1%), O2 (5.6%), SOD (10.6%), POD (27.2%), CAT (7.3%), ASA (12.3%), and GSH (6.8%) compared to low concentrations (10 mg L−1) of PS-MPs/NPs. Notably, under the same concentration, the impact of 50 nm PS-NPs was stronger than that of 5 μm PS-MPs. The peanut shoot fresh weight of PS-NPs was lower than that of PS-MPs by an average of 7.9%. Additionally, we found that with an increasing exposure time of PS-MPs/NPs, the inhibitory effect of low concentrations of PS-MPs/NPs on the fresh weight was decreased by 2.5%/9.9% (5 d) and then increased by 7.7%/2.7% (15 d). Conversely, high concentrations of PS-MPs/NPs consistently reduced the fresh weight. Correlation analysis revealed a clear positive correlation between peanut biomass and both the SPAD values as well as Fv/Fm, and a negative correlation with MDA, SOD, CAT, ASA, and GSH. Furthermore, the presence of PS-MPs/NPs in roots, stems, and leaves was confirmed using a confocal laser scanning microscope. The internalization of PS-MPs/NPs within peanut tissues negatively impacted peanut growth by increasing the MDA and O2 levels, reducing the SPAD values, and inhibiting the photosynthetic capacity. In conclusion, the study demonstrated that the effects of PS on peanuts were correlated with the PS size, concentration, and exposure time, highlighting the potential risk of 50 nm to 5 μm PS being absorbed by peanuts.
Keywords: polystyrene microplastics/nanoplastics; peanut; photosynthetic efficiency; antioxidant system; absorb; transport polystyrene microplastics/nanoplastics; peanut; photosynthetic efficiency; antioxidant system; absorb; transport

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Li, Y.; Huang, X.; Lv, Q.; Ma, Z.; Zhang, M.; Liu, J.; Fan, L.; Yan, X.; Jiao, N.; Younas, A.; et al. Visual Observation of Polystyrene Microplastics/Nanoplastics in Peanut Seedlings and Their Effects on Growth and the Antioxidant Defense System. Agronomy 2025, 15, 1895. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081895

AMA Style

Li Y, Huang X, Lv Q, Ma Z, Zhang M, Liu J, Fan L, Yan X, Jiao N, Younas A, et al. Visual Observation of Polystyrene Microplastics/Nanoplastics in Peanut Seedlings and Their Effects on Growth and the Antioxidant Defense System. Agronomy. 2025; 15(8):1895. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081895

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Yuyang, Xinyi Huang, Qiang Lv, Zhanqiang Ma, Minhua Zhang, Jing Liu, Liying Fan, Xuejiao Yan, Nianyuan Jiao, Aneela Younas, and et al. 2025. "Visual Observation of Polystyrene Microplastics/Nanoplastics in Peanut Seedlings and Their Effects on Growth and the Antioxidant Defense System" Agronomy 15, no. 8: 1895. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081895

APA Style

Li, Y., Huang, X., Lv, Q., Ma, Z., Zhang, M., Liu, J., Fan, L., Yan, X., Jiao, N., Younas, A., Shaaban, M., Gao, J., Wang, Y., & Liu, L. (2025). Visual Observation of Polystyrene Microplastics/Nanoplastics in Peanut Seedlings and Their Effects on Growth and the Antioxidant Defense System. Agronomy, 15(8), 1895. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081895

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