Researchers have found that a bacterium isolated from kimchi can bind to nanoplastics in the gut and carry them out of the body.
The finding reframes fermented-food microbes as potential tools for limiting how much plastic remains inside people.
An intestinal test
Inside fluid meant to mimic the human intestine, the kimchi microbe kept holding particles that other bacteria largely released.
At the World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim) Dr. Se Hee Lee and colleagues found that 57% of the particles.
Lee’s group watched a comparison strain drop to 3% under the same gut-like conditions, after reaching 85% in standard tests.
The comparison strain’s collapse made the kimchi microbe look less like a curiosity and more like a serious option inside the intestine.
Why plastic sticks to kimchi
Bacteria commonly found in…