Scientists explore whether plastic particles could be linked to significant rises in liver disease

The connection has been suggested in a new article written by experts in microplastics and liver disease from our Centre of Environmental Hepatology

Illustration of a liver for Environmental Hepatology �鶹��ý

Scientists explore whether plastic particles could be linked to significant rises in liver disease

The connection has been suggested in a new article written by experts in microplastics and liver disease from our Centre of Environmental Hepatology

Mr Alan Williams

Media and Communications Manager

Corporate Communications (Marketing and Communications)

23 April 2026

There is considerable evidence that microplastics and nanoplastics are present in the livers of humans and wild animal populations on land and in the ocean.

Now experts in environmental and human health are investigating whether the presence of these tiny plastic particles in the liver is driving disease and directly contributing to the soaring global rates of liver disease.

Published in the journal Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, the article has been produced by researchers from the �鶹��ý’s newly-established Centre of Environmental Hepatology.

Through a wide-ranging review of existing studies, they say there is clear evidence that exposure to micro- and nano-plastics can trigger oxidative stress, fibrogenesis and inflammation in animals, features that resemble those of advanced liver disease in humans.

With the liver acting as the body's first major firewall, processing and detoxifying everything humans consume, there is a clear potential for these particles to enable the transporting of microbial pathogens, antimicrobial resistance determinants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and carcinogenic additives into the human system.

The scientists have used that to introduce the concept of plastic-induced liver injury, and to call for increased research into whether it can accelerate the progression of alcohol-related liver disease and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, which affects more than 1 in 3 people worldwide.

The article's lead author is Professor Shilpa Chokshi, Professor of Experimental Hepatology and Director of the Centre of Environmental Hepatology, who has been driving research to develop therapeutics for chronic liver disease for more than two decades.

Liver disease is rising globally and is now responsible for 1 in 25 deaths worldwide.

While established risk factors such as obesity and harmful alcohol use remain central, they do not fully explain the scale or pace of this increase. This has led us to consider additional environmental factors, including micro- and nano-plastics, which may interact with existing disease processes and amplify liver injury. There is already strong evidence that plastics can accumulate and cause harm in the livers of animals, raising an important question: why should humans be any different?

Professor Shilpa Chokshi
Professor of Experimental Hepatology

In the review, the researchers have highlighted critical methodological bottlenecks, key knowledge gaps and unmet research priorities, as well as a number of technical challenges that are presently hindering the search for further evidence of plastic-induced liver injury.

They have also provided a detailed assessment of the priority research required to fully quantify the effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on the liver, and emphasised the importance of health and environmental experts working in tandem to address that.

What this article shows is that we now have a growing body of evidence that plastics can accumulate in human tissues, and have been implicated in a range of medical conditions. From my perspective, having spent over two decades developing therapeutics for liver disease, the liver acts as the body's gatekeeper – processing and detoxifying what we are exposed to. In an increasingly plastic-laden world, where plastics are closely associated with our food, water and air, these exposures may not only reach the liver but also interact with existing disease processes and amplify harm. If this is the case, it is something we need to investigate in much greater detail.

Professor Shilpa Chokshi

Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, Professor of Marine Biology at the �鶹��ý, is another of the article’s co-authors.

He is Head of the International Marine Litter Research Unit at the �鶹��ý and a co-coordinator of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, and has spent the past three decades examining the sources and effects of microplastics and calling for a global consensus to prevent their future production.

This is further evidence that plastic pollution is, without question, a global environmental and health challenge.

While some uncertainties about the absolute level of harm to the human liver remain, the fact that plastics are present at all – and the wider evidence of harm caused by plastic pollution – necessitates urgent action. The solutions unquestionably lie in ensuring the plastic products we make bring essential benefit to society and that those essential plastic products are safer – for example, in terms of their chemical composition – and far more sustainable, shedding fewer micro- and nano-particles than is currently the case.

Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS
Professor in Marine Biology

Centre of Environmental Hepatology

The Centre of Environmental Hepatology (CEH) brings together scientists, clinicians and environmental researchers to generate mechanistic, clinically grounded evidence that can inform prevention, improve patient outcomes, and support policies that reduce harmful exposures.

Our mission is to transform understanding of liver health in a changing world and to ensure that research translates into meaningful impact for patients, communities, and future generations.

Discover more research from the Centre of Environmental Hepatology

3d rendered illustration of the male liver

The full article – Chokshi et al.: Microplastics, nanoplastics and liver disease: an emerging health concern? – is published in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, DOI: .

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Mr Alan Williams

Centre of Environmental Hepatology

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