A postbiotic may limit our absorption of microplastics, according to the first human trial of a microplastic-removal supplement. It uses the rough surface of dead bacteria to attract microplastics, preventing them from entering cells.

Microplastics, which are less than 5 millimetres long, are ubiquitous in the environment and have been detected throughout the human body. Research has shown that people with arterial plaques containing microplastics are more than four times as likely to have a heart attack or stroke than those with plastic-free plaques. Higher concentrations of microplastics have also been reported in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. However, neither finding proves that microplastics cause these conditions.