ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems
This article is part of the Research TopicUnravelling the Wildlife Gut Microbiome: The Crucial Role of Gut Microbiomes in Wildlife Conservation StrategiesView all 22 articles
Microplastics: a potential threat to gut microbiota and antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu, China
- 2Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Livestock Disease Prevention, Guangzhou, China
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The detrimental effects of microplastics on environmental and biological health have been extensively documented, encompassing various aspects such as growth inhibition, metabolic disorders, and organ damage. However, current research predominantly focuses on model organisms, with limited studies investigating their effects on broiler chickens. Therefore, this study aims to examine the impact of microplastics exposure on the gut microbiota and antioxidant function in broiler chickens. The results indicated that microplastics significantly affect serum biochemical and antioxidant parameters, evidenced by marked increases in AST, ALT, and MDA levels, alongside decreases in SOD and GSH-Px levels. Microbiome analysis revealed a significant decrease in the alpha diversity of the gut microbiota, accompanied by significant alterations in microbial structure. Additionally, Metastats analysis demonstrated a significant increase in the relative abundances of one phylum and 12 genera during microplastics exposure, contrasted with a significant decrease in the relative abundances of three phyla and 108 genera. Importantly, microplastics exposure also led to changes in gut microbial function, affecting energy metabolism, coenzyme transport and metabolism, and amino acid metabolism, etc. In summary, our study demonstrates that microplastics can adversely affect the health of broiler chickens by reducing their antioxidant capacity, and causing gut microbial dysbiosis. In light of the increasing pollution from microplastics, this study provides crucial information for assessing the risks posed by microplastics to livestock production. Furthermore, future research should prioritize monitoring the migration of microplastics within the food chain and examining their long-term effects on biological behavior and ecological functions.
Keywords: antioxidant, biochemical, chicken, Gut Microbiota, Microplastics
Received: 18 Sep 2025; Accepted: 05 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Qin, Song, Xiang, Luo and Wen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaohui Wen
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