Environmental application of plastic masticating insects: perspective of a sustainable approach to plastic degradation

• Larvae pupated at a rapid rate in environmental-like controlled conditions (ECC), resulting in overall survival being lower compared to controlled laboratory conditions (CC). • Maximum weight gain was observed in the treatment setup containing polystyrene in combination with the artificial diet. • The binding energy of alcohol dehydrogenase was lowest at -9.0 kcal/mol, and the C–O stretching observed in FTIR further confirms chemical changes to the polymer backbone by indicating the formation of esters or alcohols. • Ethylene (monomer of polyethylene) exhibited concerns for hepatotoxicity, carcinogenicity, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, and cytochrome P450 (CYP2C9) enzyme. The global issue of plastic waste accumulation may eventually be addressed through biological systems that break down plastics and utilize the resultant by-products. In the current study, we primarily focus on the practical applicability of these systems in real-world scenarios. We examined the differences between controlled laboratory condition (CC) and environmental-like controlled condition (ECC) for consumption efficiency, feeding behaviour, and the effect on larval health for plastic biodegradation assay. Plastic sample exposed to insects shows significant chemical modification in fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum suggesting oxidative and structural degradation. In-silico toxicity (PROTOX-3.0) results shows high probability for hepatotoxicity, mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, and interactions with cytochrome P450 (CYP2C9) highlighting toxicity concern for ethylene. Molecular docking results shows strong binding affinities of several enzymes (oxidoreductases and hydrolases) with plastic polymers supports our findings, indicating potential role in degradation. Comet assay analysis revealed plastic consumption leads to severe genotoxic stress that the insect larvae that were on plastic diet.