Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (922 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
An increase in the concentration of an exogenous substance in the tissues of organisms higher than surrounding environment. Accumulation of such xenobiotics at successively higher levels up the food chain is called biomagnification. Bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals (e.g., Lead and DDT) may result in chemically-induced disorders.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Bioconcentration; Bioconcentrations; Bio Accumulation; Bio-accumulation; Bio-accumulations; Bio Concentration; Bio-concentration; Bio-concentrations.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Absorption, Physiological
- See also
- Chemically-Induced Disorders
Related concepts
- Environment
- Xenobiotics
- Food Chain
- Chemically-Induced Disorders
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 2,664 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Bioaccumulation” (counts retrieved 2026-10-29). 2,572 of them (96.5%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 2,572 records.
Reviews account for 197 records (7.4%) and meta-analyses for 14. Randomized controlled trials number 0 (0.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 0 |
| 2010-2019 | 195 |
| 2020 onward | 2,572 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 197 | 7.4% |
| Meta-analyses | 14 | 0.5% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 0 | 0.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Bioaccumulation"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-29.
Reading the evidence in pharmacology
Drug evidence builds in layers: laboratory pharmacology describes how a compound acts, pharmacokinetic studies describe how the body handles it, and randomized trials test whether it helps and what harms it causes. Post-marketing surveillance and observational studies reveal rarer adverse effects but cannot prove causation. This page is educational and is not a recommendation to start, stop or change any medicine; decisions about treatment belong with a qualified clinician.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Microplastic (MP) contamination has been well documented across a range of habitats and for a large number of organisms in the marine environment.
- Closing excerpt
- Recommendations for future studies to focus on investigating ingestion, retention and depuration rates for MPs and chemical additives under environmentally realistic conditions, and on examining the potential of multi-level trophic transfer for MPs and chemical additives have been made.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (300 words)
Microplastic (MP) contamination has been well documented across a range of habitats and for a large number of organisms in the marine environment. Consequently, bioaccumulation, and in particular biomagnification of MPs and associated chemical additives, are often inferred to occur in marine food webs. Presented here are the results of a systematic literature review to examine whether current, published findings support the premise that MPs and associated chemical additives bioaccumulate and biomagnify across a general marine food web. First, field and laboratory-derived contamination data on marine species were standardised by sample size from a total of 116 publications. Second, following assignment of each species to one of five main trophic levels, the average uptake of MPs and of associated chemical additives was estimated across all species within each level. These uptake data within and across the five trophic levels were then critically examined for any evidence of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Findings corroborate previous studies that MP bioaccumulation occurs within each trophic level, while current evidence around bioaccumulation of associated chemical additives is much more ambiguous. In contrast, MP biomagnification across a general marine food web is not supported by current field observations, while results from the few laboratory studies supporting trophic transfer are hampered by using unrealistic exposure conditions. Further, a lack of both field and laboratory data precludes an examination of potential trophic transfer and biomagnification of chemical additives associated with MPs. Combined, these findings indicate that, although bioaccumulation of MPs occurs within trophic levels, no clear sign of MP biomagnification in situ was observed at the higher trophic levels. Recommendations for future studies to focus on investigating ingestion, retention and depuration rates for MPs and chemical additives under environmentally realistic conditions, and on examining the potential of multi-level trophic transfer for MPs and chemical additives have been made.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 33064755 · DOI · PMC7567360
Assessment on interactive prospectives of nanoplastics with plasma proteins and the toxicological impacts of virgin, coronated and environmentally released-nanoplastics [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Recently, the concerns about micro- and nano-plastics (NPs) toxicity have been increasing constantly, however the investigations are quiet meager.
- Closing excerpt
- At the outset, the present study highlights the urgent need of scrutinization and regulation of NPs use in medical applications and pre-requisition of additional studies for assessing the bio-accumulation and bio-magnification of NPs.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (184 words)
Recently, the concerns about micro- and nano-plastics (NPs) toxicity have been increasing constantly, however the investigations are quiet meager. The present study provides evidences on the toxicological prospectives of virgin-, coronated- and isolated-NPs on human blood cells and Allium cepa root tip, respectively. Several plasma proteins displayed strong affinity towards NPs and produced multi-layered corona of 13 nm to 600 nm size. The coronated-NPs often attracted each other via non-specific protein-protein attraction which subsequently induced protein-induced coalescence in NPs. In the protein point of view, the interaction caused conformational changes and denaturation of protein thereby turned it as bio-incompatible. The coronated-NPs with increased protein confirmation changes caused higher genotoxic and cytotoxic effect in human blood cells than the virgin-NPs. On the other hand, virgin-NPs and the NPs isolated from facial scrubs hindered the root growth and caused chromosome aberration (ring formation, C-mitotic and chromosomal breaks, etc.) in root of Allium cepa. At the outset, the present study highlights the urgent need of scrutinization and regulation of NPs use in medical applications and pre-requisition of additional studies for assessing the bio-accumulation and bio-magnification of NPs.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31222081 · DOI · PMC6586940
Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in some commercially important fishes from a tropical river estuary suggests higher potential health risk in children than adults [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The Karnaphuli River estuary, located in southeast coast of Bangladesh, is largely exposed to heavy metal contamination as it receives a huge amount of untreated industrial effluents from the Chottagram City.
- Closing excerpt
- However, calculated CR values indicated that both age groups were not far from the risk, and HI values demonstrated that children were nearly 6 times more susceptible to non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health effects than adults.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (234 words)
The Karnaphuli River estuary, located in southeast coast of Bangladesh, is largely exposed to heavy metal contamination as it receives a huge amount of untreated industrial effluents from the Chottagram City. This study aimed to assess the concentrations of five heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, Cr and Cu) and their bioaccumulation status in six commercially important fishes, and also to evaluate the potential human health risk for local consumers. The hierarchy of the measured concentration level (mg/kg) of the metals was as follows: Pb (13.88) > Cu (12.10) > As (4.89) > Cr (3.36) > Cd (0.39). The Fulton's condition factor denoted that fishes were in better 'condition' and most of the species were in positive allometric growth. The bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) of the contaminants observed in the species were in the following orders: Cu (1971.42) > As (1042.93) > Pb (913.66) > Cr (864.99) > Cd (252.03), and among the specimens, demersal fish, Apocryptes bato appeared to be the most bioaccumulative organism. Estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) assessed for potential human health risk implications suggest that the values were within the acceptable threshold for both adults and children. However, calculated CR values indicated that both age groups were not far from the risk, and HI values demonstrated that children were nearly 6 times more susceptible to non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health effects than adults.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 31622361 · DOI · PMC6797209
Bioaccumulation of toxic and essential elements and enzymatic responses in native fish from the middle Tocantins River [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- This study provides the first ecotoxicological evaluation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), essential elements (EEs), and enzymatic biomarkers in two native fish species, Branquinha (Psectrogaster amazonica) and Branquinha-cascuda (Caenotropus labyrhinthicus), from the middle Tocantins River, Brazil.
- Closing excerpt
- 13 and As intake exceeding child safety thresholds sevenfold, highlighting significant food safety risks.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (204 words)
This study provides the first ecotoxicological evaluation of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), essential elements (EEs), and enzymatic biomarkers in two native fish species, Branquinha (Psectrogaster amazonica) and Branquinha-cascuda (Caenotropus labyrhinthicus), from the middle Tocantins River, Brazil. Specimens were collected from the urban riverside zone of Beira Rio (P1) and a fluvial beach near the rural community of Embiral (P2). PTEs and EEs concentrations were measured in liver and muscle tissues, and biochemical biomarkers included acetylcholinesterase (AChE), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Human health risks associated with fish consumption were assessed using the bioconcentration factor (BCF), risk quotient (RQ), and estimated daily intake (EDI). In P. amazonica (urban zone), arsenic (As) exceeded limits by 83–266% in muscle and 60–220% in liver, lead (Pb) in liver by 95–1850%, and selenium (Se) by up to 4537%. In C. labyrhinthicus (rural zone), As and Se in muscle exceeded limits by 185–470% and 5–200%, respectively, while Pb and zinc (Zn) were not detected. BCF values indicated moderate bioaccumulation of sulfur (S) (2867.29) and iron (Fe) (2641.30). Risk assessment revealed a high level of concern, with an RQ for Se reaching 53.13 and As intake exceeding child safety thresholds sevenfold, highlighting significant food safety risks.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41796143 · DOI · PMC13087173
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Particulate plastics as a vector for toxic trace-element uptake by aquatic and terrestrial organisms and human health risk [5]
- Research article Bioaccumulation, Biodistribution, Toxicology and Biomonitoring of Organofluorine Compounds in Aquatic Organisms [6]
- Research article Global scanning of cylindrospermopsin: Critical review and analysis of aquatic occurrence, bioaccumulation, toxicity and health hazards [7]
- Research article Bioaccumulation of potentially toxic elements by submerged plants and biofilms: A critical review [8]
- Research article Source, transportation, bioaccumulation, distribution and food risk assessment of perfluorinated alkyl substances in vegetables: A review [9]
- Research article Role of Biofilms in Contaminant Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer in Aquatic Ecosystems: Current State of Knowledge and Future Challenges [10]
References
- Miller ME, Hamann M, Kroon FJ. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of microplastics in marine organisms: A review and meta-analysis of current data. . 2020. PMID 33064755 · DOI · PMC7567360
- Gopinath PM, Saranya V, Vijayakumar S, Mythili Meera M, Ruprekha S, Kunal R, et al.. Assessment on interactive prospectives of nanoplastics with plasma proteins and the toxicological impacts of virgin, coronated and environmentally released-nanoplastics. . 2019. PMID 31222081 · DOI · PMC6586940
- Ahmed ASS, Sultana S, Habib A, Ullah H, Musa N, Hossain MB, et al.. Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in some commercially important fishes from a tropical river estuary suggests higher potential health risk in children than adults. . 2019. PMID 31622361 · DOI · PMC6797209
- da Silva Acioly TM, Iannacone J, da Silva Araújo KS, de Oliveira JM, Ilyas M, Orlanda JFF, et al.. Bioaccumulation of toxic and essential elements and enzymatic responses in native fish from the middle Tocantins River. . 2026. PMID 41796143 · DOI · PMC13087173
- Bradney L, Wijesekara H, Palansooriya KN, Obadamudalige N, Bolan NS, Ok YS, et al.. Particulate plastics as a vector for toxic trace-element uptake by aquatic and terrestrial organisms and human health risk. Environ Int. 2019. PMID 31284110 · DOI
- Savoca D, Pace A. Bioaccumulation, Biodistribution, Toxicology and Biomonitoring of Organofluorine Compounds in Aquatic Organisms. Int J Mol Sci. 2021. PMID 34207956 · DOI · PMC8230574
- Scarlett KR, Kim S, Lovin LM, Chatterjee S, Scott JT, Brooks BW. Global scanning of cylindrospermopsin: Critical review and analysis of aquatic occurrence, bioaccumulation, toxicity and health hazards. Sci Total Environ. 2020. PMID 32585507 · DOI · PMC8204307
- Geng N, Wu Y, Zhang M, Tsang DCW, Rinklebe J, Xia Y, et al.. Bioaccumulation of potentially toxic elements by submerged plants and biofilms: A critical review. Environ Int. 2019. PMID 31369978 · DOI
- Zhou Y, Zhou Z, Lian Y, Sun X, Wu Y, Qiao L, et al.. Source, transportation, bioaccumulation, distribution and food risk assessment of perfluorinated alkyl substances in vegetables: A review. Food Chem. 2021. PMID 33556727 · DOI
- Bonnineau C, Artigas J, Chaumet B, Dabrin A, Faburé J, Ferrari BJD, et al.. Role of Biofilms in Contaminant Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer in Aquatic Ecosystems: Current State of Knowledge and Future Challenges. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol. 2021. PMID 32166435 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-29.
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Evidence strength
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