Environmental Sciences Europe最新文献

{"title":"Pulmonary exposure to PFASs: evidence from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with lung cancer and non-cancer lung diseases","authors":"Ruoyu Deng,&nbsp;Dengjie Li,&nbsp;Wen Zhang,&nbsp;Chao Zhang,&nbsp;Qiang Xie,&nbsp;Ying Guo,&nbsp;Fei Wang,&nbsp;Jie Bai","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01389-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01389-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are highly persistent anthropogenic chemicals increasingly linked to adverse respiratory effects via inhalation. However, direct evidence of PFASs accumulation within the human lung remains limited. In this study, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were obtained from 102 patients with lung cancer (LC) and 121 patients with non-cancerous lung diseases (NCC) to investigate PFASs distribution patterns and their associations with demographic factors. Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) exhibited the highest detection frequency (100%) and median concentration in BALF samples from both LC and NCC patients. Short-chain PFASs were present at higher concentrations in BALF than long-chain PFASs, with perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids dominating the compositional profile for both groups. Among the major PFASs with sufficient detection frequencies for primary statistical comparison, PFHxA, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, and perfluorooctanoic acid showed significantly lower median concentrations in LC patients than in NCC patients (<i>p</i>&lt;0.05). In the NCC cohort, perfluorobutanoic acid showed an age-related difference, with higher levels in older individuals. Correlation analysis further indicated different PFASs co-occurrence patterns between the two patient groups, with relatively stronger associations among several major PFASs in the LC cohort. Overall, this study demonstrates the occurrence of multiple PFASs in human BALF and provides new observational evidence on pulmonary PFASs distribution in two lung disease cohorts, offering novel insights into direct pulmonary exposure.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01389-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seasonal variability and human health risk assessment of airborne particulate matter in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria","authors":"Opeyemi R. Omokungbe,&nbsp;Ayodele P. Olufemi,&nbsp;Thompson F. Ediagbonya,&nbsp;Raphael A. Olusola,&nbsp;Oghenenyovwe Ovie","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01400-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01400-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter PM_2.5, poses significant public health risks in rapidly urbanizing cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluates seasonal variability and non-carcinogenic human health risks associated with ambient PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ in Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria, using high-resolution one-hour averaged data from a calibrated PurpleAir sensor deployed at the National Space Research and Development Agency NASRDA Ibadan Zonal Office between March 2021 and October 2022. Monthly mean PM_2.5 concentrations ranged from 32.0 to 155.5 µg/m³, while PM₁₀ ranged from 34.1 to 174.2 µg/m³, consistently exceeding the 2021 World Health Organization annual guideline for PM_2.5 (5 µg/m³). Pronounced dry-season (November–March) elevations, particularly during Harmattan months, were observed. Air Quality Index analysis identified PM_2.5 as the dominant pollutant, with values exceeding 300, corresponding to the Hazardous category during peak dry-season episodes. Hazard Index values exceeded unity throughout the study period, peaking close to 10 for infants in March 2021, indicating substantial non-carcinogenic risk associated with reduced lung function and increased hospitalization. Age-stratified analysis revealed increasing vulnerability with decreasing age, with infants most at risk, followed by children and adults. These findings represent the first age-stratified non-carcinogenic risk assessment in Ibadan using continuous sensor data and the first application of the Air Quality Life Index in a Nigerian urban context. They also inform policy in other tropical savanna cities facing similar motorization-dust synergies, such as Accra, Ouagadougou, and Bamako.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01400-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380202","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developing a low-cost nitrate and DOC sensor for natural water samples","authors":"Heinke Paulsen,&nbsp;Christof Hübner,&nbsp;Markus Weiler","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01397-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01397-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nitrate continues to be a major threat to drinking water resources, but rapid changes in concentrations cannot be addressed by standard laboratory approaches. This study introduces a low-cost optical sensor for real-time, in-situ monitoring of nitrate (NO₃⁻) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in natural water samples (soil water, groundwater and river water). Utilizing absorbance and fluorescence at specific wavelengths with LEDs and photodiodes, this sensor system offers an alternative to expensive and complex laboratory or in-situ spectrometer methods and is suited to be paired with flux measurements (e.g., lysimeters) to assess trends and dynamics. Rather than relying on costly xenon lamps and spectrometers, and therefore external power supply, our system consists of three modules that use only LEDs and photodiodes and are optimized for detection at the specific UVA, UVC and red wavelengths. This configuration enables measurements on a broad variety of samples including laboratory standards, groundwater, stream water, and soil water extracts. Initial tests with laboratory nitrate standard solutions up to 100 mg/l achieved high accuracy, with a linear model exhibiting an R² of 0.99 and mean absolute error (MAE—average magnitude of errors in a set of predictions) of 2.63 mg/l. Although the sensor's accuracy does not fully match that of traditional laboratory analyses like ion chromatography or photogrammetric approaches, it maintains good predictive capabilities with R² values exceeding 0.9 and MAE of 4.2 mg/l NO₃⁻ for a sample mixture of groundwater, stream water and soil water with concentrations up to 66 mg/l NO₃⁻. DOC can be predicted with a MAE of 2.2 mg/l. Challenges such as the interference of DOC and turbidity with the nitrate absorbance signal, intense calibration procedures and site-specific variability remain, necessitating further refinement. Nevertheless, this sensor system provides a significant step toward accessible, continuous water quality monitoring and lays the foundation for linking nitrate concentrations to in-situ fluxes. These advancements are crucial for enhancing nutrient management and environmental protection practices.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01397-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147829183","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synergizing ethnobotany and artificial intelligence: Exploring therapeutic frontier of Himalayan medicinal plants","authors":"Divjot Kour,&nbsp;Aman Kataria,&nbsp;Abhishek Kumar,&nbsp;Akshara Bassi,&nbsp;Tanvir Kaur,&nbsp;Meenakshi Gusain,&nbsp;Imran Sheikh,&nbsp;Sofia Sharief Khan,&nbsp;Abhishek Dutta,&nbsp;Simranjeet Kaur,&nbsp;Harpreet Kour,&nbsp;Parveen Bajaj,&nbsp;George Uwadiegwu Alaneme","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01395-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01395-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Himalayan region represents a globally significant reservoir of medicinal plant diversity and indigenous ethnobotanical knowledge. However, despite its phytochemical richness and longstanding use in traditional healing systems, systematic scientific validation and integration into modern drug discovery remain limited. This review critically examines the therapeutic potential of Himalayan medicinal plants by bridging traditional ethnobotany with contemporary computational and biotechnological approaches. We describe evidence on regional biodiversity across longitudinal and latitudinal divisions, highlight major bioactive phytochemicals and their pharmacological relevance, and discuss conventional extraction and characterization techniques. Importantly, the review explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicinal plant research, including taxonomic classification, multi-omics data integration, predictive modeling of secondary metabolite biosynthesis, QSAR analysis, molecular docking, virtual screening, polypharmacology assessment, and ADMET prediction. By integrating AI-driven chemo-informatics with systems-level multi-omics frameworks, this work outlines a scalable strategy for accelerating drug discovery from Himalayan flora while supporting conservation and ethical preservation of indigenous knowledge. The review identifies key research gaps and proposes future directions for sustainable, data-driven phytopharmaceutical development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01395-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148380201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nanoparticles-induced brain injury: prevalence, mechanisms, and implications","authors":"Khadija Boukholda,&nbsp;Samuel Oluwaseun Olojede,&nbsp;Sabrine Ben Slimen,&nbsp;Eman Elbayoumi,&nbsp;Nada dhaouadi,&nbsp;Alabi Babatunde,&nbsp;Sodiq Kolawole Lawal,&nbsp;Awatef Elwej,&nbsp;Manju P. Maman,&nbsp;Hamadi Fetoui,&nbsp;Kevin Wang,&nbsp;Firas Kobeissy","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01369-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01369-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nanotechnology has opened new frontiers in neuroscience and medicine, with nanoparticles (NPs) playing a pivotal role in enhancing drug delivery systems and diagnostic precision. Due to their high surface-to-volume ratio and adaptable surface chemistry, NPs can traverse the blood–brain barrier (BBB), offering novel therapeutic strategies for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, these same properties raise safety concerns, particularly regarding their accumulation in neural tissues and the potential to disrupt neural homeostasis. This review critically examines the neurotoxicity associated with exposure to metal-based and carbon-based nanoparticles. It explores the underlying mechanisms—including oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and activation of apoptosis pathways that contribute to neural injury. Furthermore, disruptions in cholinergic and purinergic signaling are highlighted as key contributors to cognitive decline and neurodegeneration induced by NPs. A comprehensive overview of nanoparticles classification, BBB permeability, and CNS interactions is provided, alongside discussion of emerging in vitro and in vivo models that facilitate translational research. The review emphasizes the urgent need to balance the therapeutic potential of NPs with a thorough understanding of their safety profiles. Advancing regulatory frameworks and designing biocompatible nanoparticles formulations will be essential steps toward minimizing neurotoxic risks while harnessing nanotechnology for neuromedical innovation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01369-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148465071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Balancing development and green goals: the role of trade openness, energy intensity, and market concentration in E7 countries","authors":"Yunus Emre Turan,&nbsp;Dinara Zubaidullina,&nbsp;Mehmet Aydin","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01394-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01394-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study investigates the long-run relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation in the E7 economies within an extended Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. Unlike conventional EKC studies relying solely on income effects and CO₂ emissions, this analysis employs ecological footprint as a broader sustainability indicator and incorporates energy intensity, trade openness, and market concentration as structural determinants. Using second-generation panel econometric techniques that account for cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity over the period 1996–2020, the findings reveal that the EKC hypothesis is largely rejected for the E7 panel as a whole and holds only for Türkiye. The results further indicate significant heterogeneity at the country level: trade openness exacerbates environmental degradation in Russia, while market concentration is associated with reduced ecological pressure in Indonesia. Energy intensity consistently increases ecological footprint across several countries, highlighting the role of structural production inefficiencies. These findings demonstrate that environmental outcomes in E7 economies are shaped more by structural economic characteristics than by income dynamics alone, underscoring the importance of targeted structural reforms for sustainable development.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3>\u0000<div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01394-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148323370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between air pollution and acute upper respiratory infection morbidity: effects of modification under ambient temperature and relative humidity","authors":"Feng Jiang,&nbsp;Yali Niu,&nbsp;Xuezhong Shi,&nbsp;Yongli Yang,&nbsp;Junzhe Bao,&nbsp;Mengyang Yuan,&nbsp;Xiaocan Jia","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01385-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01385-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>While air pollution may adversely affect acute upper respiratory infection (AURI), whether meteorological factors modify this effect rarely been studied. This study sought to examine the association of air pollution with the morbidity of AURI as well as the modification effects of temperature and relative humidity (RH). Daily AURI visits data were obtained from Zhengzhou university hospital from 2014 to 2019. Distributed lagged nonlinear model (DLNM) was used to assess the effect of air pollutants on AURI morbidity. The modification effects of temperature and RH on the association of air pollution with AURI morbidity was explored by DLNM with an interaction term of the cross-basis of air pollutants and the temperature or RH. During the study period, 87,186 college students sought medical care for AURI. The relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) per interquartile range increase in PM₁₀, O₃, NO₂ and SO₂ were 1.09 (1.04, 1.15), 1.13 (1.02, 1.26), 1.35 (1.27, 1.44), and 1.14 (1.06, 1.23), respectively. Low temperature and high RH might exacerbate the harmful effects of air pollutants, while the opposite for O₃. This reminded us to take various measures at different temperature and RH to prevent AURI caused by air pollution.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01385-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From regulatory experiments to policy design: green finance, entrepreneurship, and carbon reduction","authors":"Yansong Jin,&nbsp;Taohong Wang,&nbsp;Huaping Sun,&nbsp;Mo Chen,&nbsp;Guodong Zhao,&nbsp;Xue Lei","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01399-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01399-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The pursuit of sustainable development has elevated green finance to the center of environmental policy design, yet translating financial regulatory reform into genuine environmental improvement remains poorly understood. This study examines China's Green Finance Pilot Zones using panel data from 332 cities over 2007 to 2024. Pilot zone designation increased green enterprise entry rates by approximately 5.4% and reduced urban carbon emissions by around 4.3%, effects operating through strengthened regional innovation ecosystems and improved credit access for new ventures. Policy effectiveness varied substantially across cities: large and market-oriented cities exhibited pronounced responses, smaller cities with weaker institutional foundations showed more limited ones, and coastal cities outperformed inland cities by a comparable margin. These patterns point toward a broadly relevant principle for sustainable finance reform: matching policy instruments to local institutional conditions tends to improve aggregate outcomes, and reforms designed with regional heterogeneity in mind are likely to generate more consistent environmental progress.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01399-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148281623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Is environmental quality a dream through green finance and the circular economy? The moderate effect of technology","authors":"Magdalena Radulescu,&nbsp;Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente,&nbsp;Syed Ale Raza Shah,&nbsp;Naila Abbas","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01393-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01393-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Since the Industrial Revolution, the globe has faced several challenges, and sustaining environmental quality (EQ) remains a hotly debated topic among policy analysts. Although practitioners have introduced green solutions to improve environmental quality, some issues remain unaddressed. Such ongoing debate provides a straightforward forum for presenting new ideas, which may help in this matter. Therefore, this study examines the roles of green finance, the circular economy, and technology (digitalization &amp; artificial intelligence) in environmental quality across 26 OECD economies over the period 2012–2023. To investigate robust outcomes, this study uses Ridge Regression (RR), Local Best Invariant (LBI), and Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), which are particularly designed to control for multicollinearity and autocorrelation in panel data. Investigated results show that total factor productivity, urbanization, green finance, and the circular economy reduce environmental quality. Conversely, this study finds that green energy plays a significant role in reducing emissions and promoting EQ. In the technology comparison, this study finds that digitalization plays an efficient role in EQ, whereas Artificial intelligence deteriorates EQ. Besides the main effect, this study also finds a moderate effect of technology and green finance on the circular economy &amp; green energy. However, this study finds only a moderate effect of Artificial Intelligence on green energy to overcome emissions. Finally, this study offers imperative implications to become clean &amp; green shortly.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01393-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148927962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Curcumin nanoparticles attenuate copper nanoparticle-induced systemic toxicity in rats: a proof-of-concept study for a systemic protective strategy","authors":"Asmaa S. Morsi,&nbsp;Hager M. Ramadan,&nbsp;Ahmed M. Youssef,&nbsp;Nadia A. Taha","doi":"10.1186/s12302-026-01379-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12302-026-01379-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO-NPs) are known to trigger systemic toxicity through the disruption of copper homeostasis and the generation of profound oxidative stress. Given their widespread industrial applications, concerns persist regarding environmental and human exposure. This cascade of molecular injury drives multi-organ damage, immune suppression, and genomic instability. To address this concern, the present study systematically evaluates the potential of engineered curcumin nanoparticles (Cur-NPs) against CuO-NPs-induced toxicity in a rodent model as a proof of principle. Sixty adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomized into five experimental groups: control, vehicle (corn oil), CuO-NPs (50 mg/kg), Cur-NPs (50 mg/kg), and CuO-NPs + Cur-NPs co-treatment, administered orally for 30 days. Toxicological endpoints included oxidative stress biomarkers, immune functional assays (total leukocyte count, phagocytic index), regulation of apoptotic pathways (Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase-3 activity), DNA integrity via the alkaline comet assay, and detailed histopathological examination of the liver, kidneys, and spleen. Exposure to CuO-NPs alone triggered severe oxidative damage, marked immunosuppression, a pro-apoptotic imbalance, and significant hepatic DNA fragmentation. Histopathology confirmed systemic injury, including hepatic necrosis, renal tubular degeneration, and splenic lymphoid depletion. Co-treatment with Cur-NPs significantly mitigated these effects, restoring antioxidant defences, immune competence, and apoptotic balance, while reducing DNA damage and tissue pathology. Cur-NPs alone maintained profiles comparable to controls, confirming their safety. Collectively, these findings reveal that Cur-NPs confer potent protection primarily by re-establishing redox homeostasis and modulating critical immune and apoptotic pathways, with copper chelation representing a proposed but unconfirmed contributory mechanism. This study provides a strong rationale for a plant-based, nanomaterial-enabled intervention to systemically protect against engineered nanomaterial toxicity in occupational settings, offering a foundation for developing exposure mitigation strategies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":546,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Sciences Europe","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12302-026-01379-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147796568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}