From Plastics to Pathways: Phthalates, Oxidative Stress, and Nervous System Function in Planaria

Phthalates are widely used chemicals added to plastics to increase flexibility and durability. Because they are not chemically bound to products, they can leach into the environment and contribute to human exposure through food packaging, plastic containers, and hygiene products such as lotions, shampoos, and fragrances. This widespread exposure has raised public health concerns because many phthalates are linked to endocrine disruption and have been associated with reproduction, developmental, metabolic, and neurological disruption. To investigate how phthalates may impact nervous system function, planarian flatworms will be used as a toxicology model. Planaria will be exposed to phthalates and then tested for changes in responsiveness to light stimuli with different colored lasers, as an indicator of nervous system function. Since oxidative stress is a proposed mechanism of toxicity, this study will examine whether phthalate exposure increases cellular stress and reduces sensory responsiveness. This research aims to model how common environmental chemicals can disrupt basic neural pathways in planaria as a way to provide insight into potential mechanisms that could inform future human health research.