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Microplastics are major pollutants in the environment, and it is currently established that microplastics have already entered human food chains and been incorporated into the human body through ingestion and inhalation. Several works in animal models have already reported the adverse effect of microplastic exposure on biological systems; however, the effect of microplastic contamination on human health is still far from understood. In previous work, we reported microplastic contamination in the digestive tract of the Indonesian coastal and highland population. Using the same stool samples, we extended our previous work by investigating gut microbial composition in samples with and without microplastic contamination using next-generation sequencing. We found that microplastic contamination does not affect overall gut microbial composition and the abundance of gut-health-related genes. However, we found a negative and positive correlation between specific types of microplastics with certain bacterial taxa, especially from the genera Roseburia, Clostridium, and Prevotella. Despite the lack of a profound effect on the gut microbiome, we detected for the first time the presence of genes encoding plastic-degrading enzymes in the human gut microbiome, suggesting an adaptation of gut microbiome to microplastic contamination. Full article

Plastic is one of the most abundant pollutants in the environment. As a result of natural physical processes, large plastic waste is degraded into microsized particles (<5 mm) called microplastics. Because of their size, abundance, and durability, microplastics are widely distributed in the environment, contaminating food and water intended for human consumption. The extent of microplastic contamination in the human body is still unclear because there are few studies concerning microplastic contamination in human specimens and, in most studies, data were collected from city dwellers. Despite having the fourth largest population and being the fourth largest plastic waste producer in the world and second largest plastic polluter in the ocean, there are currently no data with respect to microplastic exposure for the Indonesian population. Several studies have reported on microplastic contamination in seafood and freshwater organisms from Indonesia, and it is likely that microplastics have contaminated the gastrointestinal tracts of Indonesians. Using Raman spectroscopy, we detected microplastic contamination in 7 out of 11 analyzed stool samples collected from a farming community in the highland village of Pacet, East Java, Indonesia. Polypropylene (PP) was the most abundant and prevalent type of microplastic observed, and it was found in four of the positive samples with an average concentration of 10.19 microgram per gram of feces (μg/g). Microplastics were also detected at high concentrations in tempeh (soybean cake, a staple protein source for Indonesians), table salts, and toothpaste, which were regularly consumed and used by the study participants. PP was particularly high in table salts (2.6 μg/g) and toothpaste (15.42 μg/g), suggesting that these products might contribute to the gastrointestinal contamination in the studied population. This pilot study indicated microplastic contamination in the rural Indonesian population and in their daily consumables, demonstrating the far-reaching extent of microplastic pollution beyond urban areas. Full article