Micro- and nanoplastics can disrupt the intestinal microbiota and interfere with neural, immune and endocrine signalling along the gut-brain axis, potentially inducing or worsening disease. The authors note most evidence is from animal and in vitro work, with limited human clinical data.
A February 2026 review in Frontiers in Immunology covering how micro- and nanoplastics enter the body through diet, inhalation and skin contact and accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract. It examines how that accumulation disrupts gut microbiota and signalling along the gut-brain axis.
