Commercial Tea Bags Release Millions of Microplastics, Entering Human Intestinal Cells

2024-12-23

Research from the Autonomous University of Barcelona reveals that commercial tea bags release millions of microplastics and nanoplastics during brewing. The study, published in Chemosphere, shows for the first time that these particles can be absorbed by human intestinal cells, entering the bloodstream and potentially spreading throughout the body. Analysis of tea bags made from nylon-6, polypropylene, and cellulose revealed polypropylene released the highest number of particles—approximately 1.2 billion per milliliter. The microplastics were even observed entering the cell nucleus. The findings highlight the need for further research into the long-term health effects of chronic exposure and for regulations to mitigate microplastic contamination from food packaging.