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CM-30

A Drosophila-based screening platform for Traditional Chinese Medicines

targeting microplastic and plasticizer-induced kidney stones

,3
+,2
Ling-Hsuan Ho, #,+,1 Chuan-Hsiu Liu, Hsin-Ping Liu,* Wei-Yong Lin* ,1,4

1 Department of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University,
Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
2 Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical
University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
3 Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical
University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
4 Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447,
Taiwan.
+ These authors contributed equally to this work.
* Email: linwy@mail.cmu.edu.tw (W.-Y. Lin); hpliu@mail.cmu.edu.tw (H.-P. Liu)

Abstract
Kidney stones are highly prevalent in both Taiwan and the United States, yet their pathogenic
mechanisms are not fully understood. Recent studies suggest that microplastics (MPs) and the
plasticizer di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) may impair kidney function and metabolism,
contributing to stone formation. In this study, we used Drosophila melanogaster as a model,
separately adding polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) and DEHP to the culture medium. The
results showed that both agents induced significant stone deposition compared to the control
group. We then tested six traditional Chinese medicinal herbs commonly used to treat kidney
stones: Poria, Alismatis Rhizoma, Malvae Semen, Pyrrosiae Folium, Desmodium Stracifolii
Herba, and Lygodii Spora. Our findings revealed that Alismatis rhizoma and Lygodii Spora
significantly reduced stone formation, while the other herbs had no notable effects. Therefore,
our study demonstrates that microplastics and plasticizers may induce kidney stone formation
and that Alismatis Rhizoma and Lygodii Spora could be potential therapeutic agents for stones
caused by these environmental pollutants.

Keywords: Polystyrene Microplastics (PS-MPs); Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP); Kidney
Stones; Alisma Rhizoma; Lygodii Spora