It is often said that air and water are essential for living, but there are also very few people who can survive without tea.
To simplify the process of making tea, many people opt for tea bags, but recent research from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) has revealed a shocking detail.
The study published in the journal Chemosphere revealed that using commercial tea bags might release billions of tiny particles called nanoplastics and microplastics (MNPLs) into the tea while brewing.
For the first time, the study has found that these small particles can be absorbed by the cells in the human intestine.
Once absorbed, they may enter the bloodstream and travel through the body.
To understand these particle the researchers used advanced tools and methods, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA).
With the help of these methods, researchers examined the particles’ shape, size and how they act or move.
UAB researcher Alba Garcia, explained, “We have managed to innovatively characterize these pollutants with a set of cutting-edge techniques, which is a very important tool to advance research on their possible impacts on human health.”
The study found that the cells in the intestine responsible for producing mucus absorbed the most plastic particles from the tea bags.
What was even more worrying is that some plastic particles were able to enter the nucleus of the cells, which is where the cell’s genetic material is stored and controlled.
This study helps to uncover a hidden source of plastic pollution in everyday life and now it is our responsibility to act with caution.
