Extraction, identification, and environmental risk assessment of microplastics in commercial toothpaste

Chidhambaram, Madhumitha; Biruntha, Muniyandi; Arun, A.; Kheraif, Abdulaziz A. Al; Kim, Woong; Ponnuchamy, Kumar

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133976

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Floating experiments were conducted with all 34 toothpastes (Table 1). Only The indication that microplastic containing toothpastes are no longer available directly from UAE markets contrasts with recent studies from Turkey [30] and India [33] that seem to suggest that microplastic containing toothpastes can still be bought in these countries. Also in China microplastics have still been found in toothpastes [46].…”

Section: Microbeads Floating Experiments and The Quest To Find Microp...mentioning

confidence: 79%

Analysis of the Solid Contents of Toothpastes Available in UAE (United Arab Emirates) Markets

Elkashlan¹,

Poulose²,

Habib³

et al. 2022

JEP

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In order to find out whether any toothpastes commercially available in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carry microplastic content in form of plastic microbeads, the filterable solid contents of 31 toothpastes from UAE markets and 2 toothpastes imported from Syria were analyzed. FT-IR studies of the solids revealed that the major solid components were hydrated silica and calcium carbonate, where the individual toothpaste product exhibited either one or the other as the dominant constituent. Titrimetric analysis of the alkalinity of the ash of the toothpastes was carried out. The solids, ashed at 600˚C were subjected to FT-IR and EDS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic) analysis. The ash of some of the products was shown to have TiO 2 and Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 as minor components. Mostly organic dyes were used as colorants; however, iron oxide (Fe 2 O 3 ) was also found. Importantly, none of the toothpastes carried any solid microplastic particles. Only 3 toothpastes carried microbeads at all, which were made of either silica or microcrystalline cellulose. This finding indicates that toothpastes, at least in the UAE, are no longer a significant source of microplastic in the environment. The results were compared to a toothpaste bought through the internet with a formulation from 2014, which exhibited polythene microplastic at 1.31 ± 0.39 w% of the filterable solid content.

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Section: Microbeads Floating Experiments and The Quest To Find Microp...mentioning

confidence: 79%

Analysis of the Solid Contents of Toothpastes Available in UAE (United Arab Emirates) Markets

Elkashlan¹,

Poulose²,

Habib³

et al. 2022

JEP

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“…4,34 In reality, PCCPs may contain multiple types of bead shapes, and irregular shapes contribute to larger specific surface areas and therefore more friction. 35 Regarding the color of the microplastics present in toothpastes, one study 23 reported opaque appearance and another 24 as colorless. Microbeads have been shown to have different colors such as white, transparent, opaque, blue, red and orange.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the shape of the microplastics present in toothpastes, it was reported to be granular, 22 irregular with opaque appearance 23 and as colorless fragments and fibers. 24 The weight of microplastics in the product was reported as 7.24 % by Praveena et al, 22 whereas Ustabasi and Baysal 23 and Madhumitha et al 24 reported a range of 0.4-1% and 0.2-0.9% respectively.…”

Section: Characteristics Of Included Studiesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…There is evidence to show that microplastics are present in personal care products like face washes and toothpastes. 11,[19][20][21][22][23][24] The constituents in these products constitute micropollutants, due to their capacity to cause adverse effects on health and on the environment. These products, especially toothpastes, could be potentially dangerous 3 since they could not only be unintentionally ingested on a day-to-day basis but are also a source of environmental pollution as they are carried in the water.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…17 It has been reported 18 that prolonged use of toothpaste containing microbeads aggravates the inflammatory process of the gingiva and that the risk of these being unintentionally ingested on a day-to-day basis could also be potentially dangerous to health. 3 Although many studies have confirmed the presence of microbeads in face washes/scrubs in significant quantities, 11,[19][20][21] very few evidence exists [22][23][24] with respect to the presence of microbeads and their characteristics in toothpaste.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microplastic content of over-the-counter toothpastes - a systematic review

Rao

Aparna

et al. 2023

F1000Res

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Background: Microplastic particles are used as ingredients in personal care products such as face washes, shower gels and toothpastes and form one of the main sources of microplastic pollution, especially in the marine environment. In addition to being a potential pollutant to the environment, the transfer of microplastics to humans can become a severe threat to public health. This systematic review was conceptualized to identify evidence for the presence of and characteristics of microplastics in toothpaste formulations. Methods: The PICOS Criteria was used for including studies for the review. Electronic databases of Scopus, Embase, Springer Link, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar were searched, as well as hand and reference searching of the articles was carried out. The articles were screened using the software application, Covidence® and data was extracted. Results: This systematic review showed that toothpastes from China, Vietnam, Myanmar and the UAE, reported no evidence of microplastics and those from Malaysia, Turkey and India reported the presence of microplastics. The shape of the microplastics present in these toothpastes were found to be granular, irregular with opaque appearance and also in the form of fragments and fibers and the percentage weight in grams ranged from 0.2 to 7.24%. Malaysia releases 0.199 trillion microbeads annually from personal care products into the environment and toothpastes in Turkey release an average of 871 million grams of microplastics annually. Similarly, in India, it has been reported that 1.4 billion grams of microplastic particles are emitted annually from toothpaste. Conclusions: The findings of this systematic review provide evidence that toothpastes, at least in some parts of the world, do contain microplastics and that there is a great risk of increase in the addition of microplastics to the environment by the use of toothpaste.

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Fighting microplastics: The role of dietary fibers in protecting health

Wang,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Food Frontiers

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Microplastics (MPs) have emerged as a significant food‐related risk factor, posing potential threats to human health through dietary intake and the food chain. This review comprehensively analyses the impact of MPs as a novel food safety risk factor on human health (in particular on the gastrointestinal route). Furthermore, we explore the potential mechanisms by which dietary fibers (DFs) may alleviate the health risks associated with MPs. The impact of DFs on human health is intricately linked to factors such as their size, concentration, and composition. We characterize current knowledge and highlight gaps. Although DFs may be a potential strategy to reduce the impact of MPs on organism health, more in‐depth studies are needed to determine their practical effects and application prospects. In particular, research on MPs that actively reduce intake in vivo remains relatively limited and needs to receive more attention from the scientific community.

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Extraction, identification, and environmental risk assessment of microplastics in commercial toothpaste

Cited by 36 publications

References 52 publications

Analysis of the Solid Contents of Toothpastes Available in UAE (United Arab Emirates) Markets

Analysis of the Solid Contents of Toothpastes Available in UAE (United Arab Emirates) Markets

Microplastic content of over-the-counter toothpastes - a systematic review

Fighting microplastics: The role of dietary fibers in protecting health

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