People who prefer to drink loose leaf tea might be on to something: Scientists in Spain have found microscopic evidence of plastic pollution getting into human cells after being leached from tea bags.
Published in the journal Chemosphere, the research by a team from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Sohag University in Egypt and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research found that polymer-based commercial tea bags can “release millions of nanoplastics and microplastics when infused.”
The team said their study showed vast numbers of particles end up absorbed by intestinal cells and from there pass into the bloodstream and around the human body.
“The biological interaction experiments showed that mucus-producing intestinal cells had the highest uptake of micro and nanoplastics, with the particles even entering the cell nucleus that houses the genetic material,” the researchers explained, pointing out the apparent key role played by intestinal mucus in carrying the plastic deeper into the human body.
“The potential health implications of environmental micro/nanoplastics (MNPLs) are increasingly concerning,” the team said in their journal paper, calling for “further research into the effects that chronic exposure can have on human health.”
Research published last year showed plastic particles can enter the brain and testicles, pass from pregnant mother to unborn child and stop antibiotics from working.
