A team of South Korean researchers has discovered that a bacteria present in kimchi can bind to nanoplastics and help flush them out of the body, showing promise as a probiotic approach to reducing plastic buildup in our bodies.
A new study shows that the beloved traditional Korean food could help remove nanoplastics from our intestines before they can cross the intestinal barrier and accumulate in, in, or in other organs and where they have already been detected.
According to , published last month in the magazine Bioresource Technology, This effect is due to the lactic acid bacteria of food origin Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656.
The research team, led by researchers from the South Korean Ministry of Science’s World Kimchi Institute (WiKim), sought to understand whether this bacteriaoncould adhere to nanoplastics of polystyrene and, if so, how strong these bonds were under different conditions.
The researchers tested the bacteria in conventional laboratory assays, under conditions designed to simulate the human intestine and in mice. According to , in the three scenarios the Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656 revealed a strong ability to bind to nanoplastics in the intestine.
The fact of maintaining this capacity in conditions similar to those of the intestine human is particularly relevant because this is precisely where most other bacteria fails quickly.
The study provides conclusive evidence that microorganisms present in fermented foods not only help digestion, but they can also act on environmental pollutants, such as plasticswhich enter the body and lodge there.
The results of the study are promising: if the bacteria present in kimchi can bind to nanoplastics in the intestine, in theory these may be expelled before entering other parts of the body.
Nanoplastics are extremely small plastic particles, less than um micrometerthat is, less than one thousandth of a millimeter, explains .
These particles form as larger plastic materials degrade over time and can enter the body through food and .
Due to the small size of these particles, they are able to cross the intestinal barrier and accumulate in organs such as the kidneys and brain. Scientists are still in the early stages of searching for biological ways to reduce accumulation of nanoplastics in the digestive system.
“Plastic pollution is increasingly recognized not only as an environmental problem, but also as a public health concern”, he explained Sehee LeeWiKim researcher and lead author of the study.
“Our results suggest that microorganisms derived from traditional fermented foods may represent a new biological approach to face this emerging challenge”, concludes the researcher.
