Plate Nº 48 · recorded October 10, 2026
Health & Medicine ResearchReported finding
Kimchi bacterium more than doubles nanoplastic excretion in mice
A kimchi-derived lactic acid bacterium retained 57% of its nanoplastic-binding capacity under simulated gut conditions and more than doubled fecal excretion in mice, a South Korean study finds.
By Nathan Brooks3 min read614 words
In brief
- Study published September 17, 2026 in Bioresource Technology by South Korea's World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim).
- Under simulated human intestinal conditions, kimchi strain CBA3656 bound 57% of polystyrene nanoplastics while reference strain Latilactobacillus sakei CBA3608 fell to 3%.
- Germ-free mice given CBA3656 excreted more than twice as many nanoplastics in feces as control mice, with the effect seen in both male and female animals.
- In standard lab buffers, CBA3656 and the reference strain bound nearly identical shares of nanoplastics — 87% and 85%, respectively.
- Lead researcher Dr. Se Hee Lee framed the work as a biological route to address nanoplastic exposure using fermented-food microbes.
A kimchi-derived lactic acid bacterium more than doubled the amount of nanoplastics excreted in mouse feces, a South Korean team reported on September 17, 2026 in the journal Bioresource Technology. Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi (WiKim) reached that result after studying Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656, a lactic acid strain originally isolated from the fermented cabbage dish.
What did the team actually test?
WiKim researchers Drs. Se Hee Lee and Tae Woong Whon asked a simple question: can a food microbe bind to plastic particles small enough to slip through the gut wall? They focused on polystyrene nanoplastics — fragments under 1 micrometer across, roughly one-thousandth of a millimeter wide.
Such particles form as larger plastic waste degrades in the environment, then enter the body through food, drinking water, and air. Their tiny size lets them cross the intestinal barrier and accumulate in the kidneys, brain, and other organs. Biological tools for clearing such particles from the gut remain largely unexplored.
How well did the bacterium perform?
Two lab tests compared CBA3656 with a reference strain, Latilactobacillus sakei CBA3608. In standard buffers, the two microbes behaved almost identically, binding 87% and 85% of nanoplastics, respectively.
The numbers changed sharply under simulated human intestinal conditions, which are saltier, more acidic, and richer in bile salts than a typical culture tube. The reference strain's binding collapsed to 3%. CBA3656 retained 57% of its capacity — a 19-fold advantage that could prove decisive inside a real gut.
What happened in mice?
The researchers next turned to germ-free mice, animals raised from birth without any gut microbes of their own. They fed the rodents polystyrene nanoplastics, with or without CBA3656, and measured nanoplastic levels in feces.
Mice that received the bacterium expelled more than twice as many nanoplastics as control mice. The result held in both male and female animals, strengthening the case that direct binding, rather than some unrelated physiological quirk, drove the increase.
Why is this only a first step?
Several limitations deserve attention:
- The germ-free mouse model strips out competition a probiotic would face in a normally colonized intestine, so binding in real guts could fall.
- The team tested only polystyrene, leaving performance against polyethylene, PET, polypropylene, and other common plastics unknown.
- Fecal excretion rose, but the study did not measure whether nanoplastic buildup in organs actually declined.
- It remains unclear whether CBA3656 survives long enough in a microbe-filled intestine to deliver the same effect in humans.
- No clinical trial has yet tested whether the effect translates to people who consume the bacterium as part of fermented food or in a capsule.
What did the lead researcher say?
"Plastic pollution is increasingly recognized not only as an environmental issue but also as a public health concern," lead researcher Dr. Se Hee Lee said. "Our findings suggest that microorganisms derived from traditional fermented foods could represent a new biological approach to address this emerging challenge. We will continue to expand the scientific value of kimchi microbial resources to contribute to public health and environmental solutions."
Where does this fit in the bigger picture?
WiKim is a government-funded institute under South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT, led by President Hae Choon Chang. The team's broader aim, as Lee put it, is to expand the scientific value of kimchi microbial resources for public health and environmental solutions.
Researchers caution that no kimchi-eating human has yet been shown to excrete more nanoplastics — that trial, if it comes, would be the real test.
The full study, "Efficient biosorption of nanoplastics by food-derived lactic acid bacterium," appears in Bioresource Technology, volume 447 (2026), DOI 10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134234.
via wikim.re.kr (Original)
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