Study Links This Popular Fermented Food to Lower Nanoplastic Levels in the Body

A bacterium found in kimchi may offer a new way to help the body remove nanoplastics, according to a laboratory and animal study published in Bioresource Technology.

Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi in South Korea studied Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656, a lactic acid bacterium isolated from kimchi. They investigated whether the bacterium could bind to polystyrene nanoplastics in the intestine and help increase their removal from the body.

Nanoplastics are extremely small plastic particles measuring less than one micrometre. They can enter the body through food and drinking water. Because of their small size, researchers are investigating whether they can cross the intestinal barrier and accumulate in tissues and organs.

Under standard laboratory conditions, CBA3656 bound to about 87% of nanoplastics. More importantly, it retained a 57% binding rate under simulated intestinal conditions. By comparison, another bacterial strain tested in the study showed only 3% binding under the same intestinal conditions.

The researchers also tested CBA3656 in germ-free mice. Both male and female mice given the bacterium had more than twice as much nanoplastic detected in their faeces compared with untreated mice. This suggests the bacterium may bind to nanoplastics in the intestine and help carry them out of the body.

The findings provide early evidence that bacteria from fermented foods could interact with environmental pollutants in the digestive tract. However, the study was conducted under laboratory conditions and in mice, so it does not establish that eating kimchi or taking this bacterium as a probiotic can remove nanoplastics from humans.

Further research is needed to determine whether the bacterium works similarly in the human digestive system, whether it can reduce nanoplastic absorption, and whether removing these particles produces meaningful health benefits.

The researchers said kimchi-derived microorganisms could potentially become a biological approach for addressing concerns surrounding plastic exposure.

REFERENCE: Jisu Lee, et al.; Efficient biosorption of nanoplastics by food-derived lactic acid bacterium. Bioresource Technology, 2026; 447: 134234 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134234