05/29/2026
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Kimchi has been found to remove tiny plastics from the body before they spread.
The discovery centers on a probiotic microbe isolated from kimchi, the fermented Korean food made from cabbage and other vegetables. In a new study from South Korea, researchers found that this bacterium could latch onto nanoplastics inside gut-like conditions and help remove them through waste.
Nanoplastics are incredibly small plastic particles, less than 1 micrometer wide. That is far smaller than the width of a human hair. They form as larger plastics break down over time and can enter the body through food, water, and possibly the air we breathe.
Because they are so tiny, scientists worry they may cross the intestinal barrier and accumulate in organs such as the kidneys and brain. Research into what they do inside the body is still young, but the concern is growing.
The team focused on a kimchi-derived bacterium called Leuconostoc mesenteroides CBA3656. In lab tests, it attached strongly to polystyrene nanoplastics. Under normal lab conditions, it bound to 87% of the particles.
The more interesting result came when the researchers tested it under conditions meant to mimic the human intestine. Another reference strain dropped to just 3% binding efficiency. But the kimchi bacterium still held onto 57% of the nanoplastics.
Then came the mouse study.
Germ-free mice given the kimchi-derived probiotic excreted more than twice as many nanoplastics in their f***s compared with mice that did not receive it. That suggests the bacterium may help trap plastic particles in the gut and es**rt them out before they build up elsewhere.
This does not mean eating kimchi is a proven way to detox microplastics in humans. The research is still early, and the strongest evidence so far comes from lab tests and mice.
Read the study:
"Efficient biosorption of nanoplastics by food-derived lactic acid bacterium."Bioresource Technology
