AKIPRESS.COM - Scientists from the World Institute of Kimchi in South Korea have discovered that a specific lactic acid bacterium strain, Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656, isolated from kimchi, possesses the ability to bind to plastic particles.

Published in the journal Bioresource Technology, the study addresses the growing threat of nanoplastics—microscopic fragments smaller than one-thousandth of a millimeter that penetrate the intestinal walls and accumulate in vital organs like the kidneys and brain.

In laboratory trials, the kimchi-derived bacterium captured up to 87% of nanoplastics. Crucially, when researchers simulated the harsh environment of the human digestive tract, a standard control strain lost nearly all efficiency, dropping to a 3% clearance rate, while the kimchi bacterium maintained a 57% success rate. Testing the strain on germ-free mice, scientists found that those given the probiotic excreted more than twice the amount of nanoplastics compared to the control group, demonstrating that the microorganism helps flush plastic out of the body naturally.

The authors hope that microorganisms from traditional fermented foods could serve as a groundbreaking biological tool to combat nanoplastic pollution inside the human body.