Microplastics, environment,

stress

prof. Albena Alexandrova

Institute of Neurobiology – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Project КП-06-Н31/6: Complex ecotoxicological studies of psammophillic bivalve species from sublittoral habitats of
the Bulgarian Black Sea coast
 Plastics for good and evil
• Plastics began to come into widespread
use in the late 19th century.
• Globally, the amount of plastic
produced since the 1950s has reached
8,300 million tons with an annual
growth rate of 4%.
• About 60%, i.e. 5,000 million tons of
this amount comes in the form of
plastic waste.
• Only part of these 5,000 million tons is
stored in relatively ecological
conditions, the remaining 2,000-3,000
million tons are discharged
uncontrollably into the environment.
 Great Pacific Garbage Patch Plastic waste in the seas
and oceans

Plastic waste on land

Plastic waste
on Everest

Plastic waste in rivers

Microplastics
• The huge amount of plastic
waste under the action of
physical factors
(temperature, light,
humidity, oxidation)
undergoes constant
decomposition and
fragmentation, reaching
ever smaller sizes.
• The result of these
processes are microplastics
(particles with sizes
between 5 mm-1 nm).
Classification of microplastics
• Microplastics are found in air, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
• Microplastic pollution of marine ecosystems is particularly high, as the marine
environment is a final destination for continental rivers, wastewater, erosion
runoff and air deposits.
• It is estimated that 11 million tons of microplastics enter the world's seas and
oceans each year.
The Black Sea pollution
• The amount of waste in the Black Sea is almost
twice as high as in the Mediterranean Sea (90.5
versus 50 items/km2).
• About 83% of marine litter found in the Black
Sea is plastic, namely bottles, packaging, bags
and more. The big rivers (Danube and Dniester)
carry in the sea from 6 to 50 items of waste per
hour.
• A study on plastics in the Danube estimates that
about 40 tonnes of plastic are transported from
Austria across the Danube each year.
 Microplastics in the Danube and the Black Sea

• Microplastics (MPs) have been

found in the Danube sediments
and in the Black Sea sediments,
both in the shelf and at a depth
of over 2000 m.
• Concentrations of 600 MPs/kg
were found in the Danube
sediments in the Sulina arm and
in the Corbu Midia coastal zone.
• In the rest of the studied
Romanian and Bulgarian coastal
zones the concentrations varied
between 150-300 MPs/kg.
 Microplastics and Black Sea biota
• There are relatively few studies on the MPs
accumulation in Black Sea organisms.
• Firstly, a presence of MPs in zooplankton in the
southern part of the Black Sea (Turkish coast) was
reported (AYTAN et al. 2016).
• Recently, MPs were found in black mussels (Mytilus
galloprovincialis) (GEDIK & ERYAŞAR 2020) and clams
(Donax trunculus, Chamelea Gallina, Anadara
inaequivalvis, Pitar rudis) from the southern part of
the Black Sea (Turkish coast) (ŞENTÜ et al. 2020;
GOZLER 2022).
 In the laboratories of the Department of Biology
(University of Shumen), the Institute of Molecular Biology-
BAS, the Institute of Oceanology-BAS and the Institute of
Neurobiology-BAS we started the first studies of
microplastics in clams (Donax trunculus Linnaeus, 1758)
from the Bulgarian Black Sea

• All tested clams contained MPs. А Б

• A large number of MPs were accumulated in the
clams, collected from the Varna Bay and Ahtopol.
• MPs with the smallest dimensions <25 µm
predominated everywhere (Fig. A, red).
According to published data, the smallest MPS
are the most dangerous for the organisms’
health.
• In terms of MPs shape, the particles
predominated over the fibers (Fig. B, blue).

Pilot Screening of Microplastic Bioacumulation in Wedge Clams (Donax trunculus Linnaeus, 1758) from the Bulgarian Black Sea coast
Albena Alexandrova, Tsveteslava Ignatova-Ivanova, Darina Bachvarova, Aleksandar Doichinov, Sevginar Ibryamova & Nesho Chipev
 Effects of
microplastics
on aquatic
organisms
Oxidative stress is a major mediator of the harmful effects of
microplastics in the organism
 OXIDATIVE STRESS IS A Равновесие
Balance
PHENOMENON CAUSED BY THE
(АОХ = ROS)
IMBALANCE BETWEEN PROOXIDANT
AND ANTIOXIDANT PROCESSES IN
THE ORGANIZM CELLS

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are

continuously generated in all oxygen-breathing Оксидативен стрес
Oxidative stress
(Излишък на ROS)
(aerobic) organisms. (excess production
of ROS)
Due to their high reactivity, they can cause
oxidative damage.
They are neutralized by enzymatic and non- Оксидативен стрес
enzymatic antioxidants (AOX). Oxidative stress
(Изчерпани AOX)
(exhausted
The processes of ROS production and antioxidants)
neutralization by AOX are in unstable
equilibrium. ANTIOXIDANTS
Антиоксиданти
Оксиданти
PROOXIDANTS
 STRESS
The basic concept

• stressor - an external factor;

• stress - an internal
condition of the body
caused by a stressor;
• stress reaction - a cascade
of internal changes in the
body caused by stress.
A huge range of multiple environmental/anthropogenic stressors cause oxidative stress
 What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
(Hormesis effect)
• Not every stress is harmful!
• Mild stress is essential for the inclusion of
various adaptive processes that ensure
the survival of organisms in an aquatic
environment.
• These fine mechanisms have probably
played a key role in the evolution of life in
extreme environments.
 The Ecosystem
All living organisms in
the ecosystem are
interconnected.

Microplastics can pass

through trophic levels,
accumulating in
increasing quantities.

Disruption of the
structure and functions
at any level caused by
microplastics will lead
to changes in all
others.
 Microplastics and humans

• Breading, water drinking and

seafood consumption can bring
microplastics into the human body.
• Although the effects of
microplastics on human health
have not been well studied, it has
been suggested that they may
have a big number of adverse
effects.
The effect of microplastics on living
organisms is intensively studied in
laboratory conditions on experimental
animals.

Different types (in shape, size and

chemical composition) of microplastics
are tested.

The accumulation of microplastics in

various organs is monitored.

Various biomarkers for oxidative stress,

inflammation, intoxication, necrosis,
apoptosis, tumorigenesis, etc. are
measured.
 Tissue accumulation of microplastics in mice and biomarker responses suggest widespread health risks of
exposure (Deng et al., 2017)
microplastics

• The results showed that

MPs accumulate in the liver,
kidney and intestine of
experimental animals -
mice.
• Analyzes proved that MPs
disrupt energy and lipid
metabolism, cause oxidative
stress.
• Blood biomarkers of
neurotoxicity had also been
altered.  
March 25, 2022: Scientists have discovered microplastics in human blood for the first time.
April 11, 2022: Scientists have identified microplastics in lung tissue taken from living
people for the first time.
Actions

TID(Y)UP
Bulgaria
Thank you for the attention!