The EPFL researchers specifically targeted progesterone. It is known as an endocrine disruptor. These are hormone-active substances which, even in the smallest quantities, can damage health in the body by changing the endocrine system. Endocrine disruptors are mainly found in synthetically manufactured materials such as pesticides, solvents, baby products and plastics.
The progesterone contained in the microplastic is released into the digestive tract through chemical reactions with the digestive fluids of the fish. This is the central result of a study jointly carried out by scientists from EPFL, the Federal Institute for Water Supply, Wastewater Treatment and Water Protection (Eawag), Peking University in Beijing and Oklahoma State University and published in the journal “Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts »was published.
“Our study shows that microplastics are an additional vector for exposing fish to micropollutants such as progesterone, a steroid hormone found in the environment,” says Florian Breider, head of the EPFL’s Central Environmental Laboratory and co-author of the study. “Nobody knows yet whether the micropollutants penetrate the intestinal walls and spread to the rest of the fish”.
* Technical publication link https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EM00226K