New Delhi, April 11 -- Plant leaves absorbed microplastics and nanoplastics directly from the air, with the particles subsequently entering the food chain through herbivores and crops consumed by humans, a new study found.

Microplastics are defined as plastic particles measuring up to 5 millimetres in diameter, while nanoplastics are even smaller, less than 1,000 nanometres.

The study, published in the journal Nature, showed that plastic particles entered leaves through multiple pathways, including surface structures such as stomata and the cuticle.

The research was conducted by scientists from Nankai University's College of Environmental Science and Engineering, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Chinese Academy of Sciences'...