Accumulation of plastic materials in terrestrial systems threatens to contaminate food chains. The aim of the current study is to determine the impact of microplastics synthesized from PET plastics (control, 50, 250, 500, 750, 1000 mg/L) with respect to morphological, biochemical impact on Cicer arietinum using standardized 72 h assay and cytotoxicity study on Allium cepa root tips. The synthesized microplastics were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies. Germination studies clearly revealed that there is a sharp decrease in germination with increasing the concentration of microplastics. Both pigment and carbohydrate levels increased up to 500 mg/L concentration, although protein levels increased with increase of microplastic dose. Catalase activity also increased with increasing microplastic concentration. Finally, cytotoxicity studies revealed significant chromosomal aberration at higher dose of microplastics. Therefore, it may be concluded that the microplastics have significant biological and structural adverse effects on plant metabolism.

陆地系统中塑料材料的积累有可能污染食物链。本研究的目的是使用标准化的 72 小时测定法和细胞毒性确定由 PET 塑料（对照，50、250、500、750、1000 毫克/升）合成的微塑料对Cicer arietinum的形态、生化影响的影响洋葱的研究根提示。通过扫描电子显微镜 (SEM) 和傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 研究对合成的微塑料进行了表征。发芽研究清楚地表明，随着微塑料浓度的增加，发芽率急剧下降。尽管蛋白质水平随着微塑料剂量的增加而增加，但色素和碳水化合物的水平都增加到 500 mg/L 浓度。过氧化氢酶活性也随着微塑料浓度的增加而增加。最后，细胞毒性研究表明，在较高剂量的微塑料下会出现显着的染色体畸变。因此，可以得出结论，微塑料对植物代谢具有显着的生物学和结构不利影响。