Scientists have discovered something remarkable inside fermenting kimchi. A microbe called Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656 can grab onto plastic particles so small they slip through human cells, then carry them out of the body.
Researchers at the World Institute of Kimchi in South Korea found this in laboratory tests. Nanoplastics are plastic fragments smaller than one micrometer that form when larger plastic products break down. They enter human bodies through food and water and can accumulate in organs including the brain and kidneys. Currently, there is no medical method to remove them.
In tests, the kimchi microbe latched onto 87% of polystyrene particles in laboratory solution. More importantly, it held onto about 57% even when placed in conditions similar to the human gut, with its acids and digestive fluids. Other bacteria failed this test, dropping to just 3% effectiveness.
The microbe works through biosorption, a physical clinging process, not digestion. The plastic sticks to the bacterial surface, and when the microbe leaves the body, the plastic leaves with it.
When researchers tested this in mice, the animals that received the kimchi strain passed more than twice as much plastic in their feces as the control group.
While these results are promising, researchers emphasize that more work is needed. The mice tested had no gut bacteria, unlike humans. Only one type of plastic was tested. However, the researchers suggest that kimchi, which sits in millions of refrigerators worldwide, may offer a simple solution to a serious modern problem.