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Dietary Fat and Fiber Divergently Control Intestinal Nanoplastic Bioaccumulation through Gut Motility and Barrier
Zewen Ji1, Erkai He2, Zhiling Guo3
1State Key Laboratory of Green Papermaking and Resource Recycling, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Environmental Science & Technology
|July 2, 2026
Summary
Dietary patterns significantly impact nanoplastic (NP) accumulation in the gut. High-fiber diets reduce NP burden by supporting gut barrier integrity and motility, unlike high-fat diets.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Gastroenterology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Nanoplastic (NP) ingestion presents an emerging environmental health concern.
- Host factors influencing NP intestinal fate and bioaccumulation are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how dietary patterns modulate nanoplastic bioaccumulation in the gut.
- To determine the effects of control (CD), high-fat (HFD), and high-fiber (HFib) diets on NP intestinal fate.
Main Methods:
- Mice were fed CD, HFD, or HFib diets and exposed to deuterium-labeled polystyrene NPs (0, 5, or 25 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks.
- Colonic NP accumulation, gut barrier integrity, and gut motility were assessed.
- Multiomics analysis (metabolomics, microbiome) and integrative path modeling were employed.
Main Results:
- Dietary composition significantly altered colonic NP accumulation: HFD increased NP burden by 2.83-fold, while HFib reduced it by 34% compared to CD.
- HFD exacerbated NP accumulation by damaging the gut barrier and suppressing motility, linked to gut dysbiosis and short-chain fatty acid deficiency.
- HFib promoted a protective gut microbiota network, contrasting with the pathogenic cascade induced by HFD.
Conclusions:
- Host nutrition is a critical determinant of NP intestinal fate and accumulation.
- Dietary fiber may serve as a nutritional strategy to mitigate NP effects and enhance intestinal resilience against NP exposure.
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