Scientists have found microplastics in human breast milk for the first time, but further research is needed to pinpoint potential health risks as infants are highly susceptible to chemical pollutants.

Researchers at the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy collected breast milk samples from 34 women who had just given birth for a week and were in good health. Microplastics were detected in 75% of the samples. The study was published in the British chemical journal "POLYMER".

So what are microplastics? Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm in size, and they can come from a variety of sources, including cosmetics, detergents, packaging, and even synthetic fibers in clothing. Because they are present in all water bodies today, including bottled and tap water, fish are consuming them too, and they are part of our food supply.

Microplastics enter the human body mainly through ingestion, inhalation and skin contact. Once internalized, microplastics can cross cell membranes and travel to different body parts, triggering specific cellular mechanisms. The most abundant microplastics consist of polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene, ranging in size from 2 to 12 µm.

Previous studies have shown that bottle-fed babies may swallow millions of microplastics every day, and the concentration of microplastics in infant feces is 10 times that of adults. "In addition, we only see the tip of the iceberg of microplastics, and the smaller ones Nanoplastics may be more prevalent and toxic, but it is currently not possible to analyze nanoplastics in complex matrices such as breast milk."

Micrographs and Raman spectra (wavenumbers, cm−1) of some of the microplastics found in breast milk samples. PE: polyethylene; PVC: polyvinyl chloride; PP: polypropylene; PVOH: polyvinyl alcohol; PEVA: poly(ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer); PEMA: polyethyl methacrylate; polyethersulfone: polyester , and PC: polycarbonate.

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