Approximately 381 million tons of plastic are produced globally every year, and the majority of it ends up as pollutants. In the environment, plastic waste is fragmented into microplastic particles less than 5 mm in size; owing to their small size, durability, and abundance, they can easily be dispersed, incorporated into the food chains, and enter the human body. The extent of microplastic exposure in the human body has become a major concern in many countries, including in Indonesia, the second largest plastic waste contributor in the world. Here, we report the detection of microplastics in human stools collected from a fisherman community in the coastal area of Surabaya, Indonesia. Microplastics were found in more than 50% of samples analyzed with a concentration ranging from 3.33 to 13.99 µg of microplastic per gram of feces (µg/g). HDPE was observed as the most prevalent type of microplastic, with an average concentration of 9.195 µg/g in positive samples. Different types of microplastics were also detected in seafood, staple foods, drinking water, table salts, and toothpaste, which were regularly used and consumed by the study participants. Results from this preliminary study indicate widespread contamination of microplastic in the human body and in consumables associated with the coastal populations of Indonesia.

Plastic is one of the most abundant pollutants in the environment. As a result of natural physical processes, large plastic waste is degraded into microsized particles (<5 mm) called microplastics. Because of their size, abundance, and durability, microplastics are widely distributed in the environment, contaminating food and water intended for human consumption. The extent of microplastic contamination in the human body is still unclear because there are few studies concerning microplastic contamination in human specimens and, in most studies, data were collected from city dwellers. Despite having the fourth largest population and being the fourth largest plastic waste producer in the world and second largest plastic polluter in the ocean, there are currently no data with respect to microplastic exposure for the Indonesian population. Several studies have reported on microplastic contamination in seafood and freshwater organisms from Indonesia, and it is likely that microplastics have contaminated the gastrointestinal tracts of Indonesians. Using Raman spectroscopy, we detected microplastic contamination in 7 out of 11 analyzed stool samples collected from a farming community in the highland village of Pacet, East Java, Indonesia. Polypropylene (PP) was the most abundant and prevalent type of microplastic observed, and it was found in four of the positive samples with an average concentration of 10.19 microgram per gram of feces (μg/g). Microplastics were also detected at high concentrations in tempeh (soybean cake, a staple protein source for Indonesians), table salts, and toothpaste, which were regularly consumed and used by the study participants. PP was particularly high in table salts (2.6 μg/g) and toothpaste (15.42 μg/g), suggesting that these products might contribute to the gastrointestinal contamination in the studied population. This pilot study indicated microplastic contamination in the rural Indonesian population and in their daily consumables, demonstrating the far-reaching extent of microplastic pollution beyond urban areas.

This study reports in vitro lipophilic antioxidant, inhibition of α-amylase and antibacterial activities of extracts of peel and pulp of citrus samples from Aceh, Indonesia. HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography), phytochemical, and FTIR (fourier transform infrared) analysis detected carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids and terpenoids, contributing to the biological potencies. Most peel and pulp extracts contained lutein and lower concentrations of zeaxanthin, α-carotene, β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin. The extracts also contained flavanone glycosides (hesperidin, naringin and neohesperidin), flavonol (quercetin) and polymethoxylated flavones (sinensetin, tangeretin). L-TEAC (lipophilic trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) test determined for peel extracts higher antioxidant capacity compared to pulp extracts. All extracts presented α-amylase inhibitory activity, pulp extracts showing stronger inhibitory activity compared to peel extracts. All extracts inhibited the growth of both gram (+) and gram (−) bacteria, with peel and pulp extracts of makin showing the strongest inhibitory activity. Therefore, local citrus species from Aceh are potential sources of beneficial compounds with possible health preventive effects.

The data presented here focuses on the physicochemical characterization of perovskite CaTiO3 nanoparticles (orthorhombic) as photocatalyts and the kinetic study of their photodegradation performance toward organic pollutant, i.e. brilliant green (BG) which is azo derivatives dye. The CaTiO3 nanoparticles was synthesized using chicken eggshell-derived CaCO3 and anatase TiO2 with molar ratio of (1:1), (1:3), (2:5), and (2:7). The physical and microstructural properties of CaTiO3 were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and UV/vis spectrometer. The effect of initial dye concentration, catalyst composition, and catalyst dosage on the adsorption mechanism of dye on CaTiO3 was investigated in jacketed photoreactor under UV irradiation. The analysis reveals that BG molecules are efficiently chemisorbed, as indicated by pseudo first order kinetic, and degraded within 120 min. Considering the low-cost preparation process and high photocatalytic performance, the resultant CaTiO3 can further be used as an efficient photocatalyst for organic pollutant removal from aqueous and industrial wastewater.