#microplastics

"The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.

To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.

Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.

Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.

A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.

The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.

Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).

The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”

She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’"

Spontaneous Microplastic Repolymerization Syndrome (SMRS) occurs when, suddenly, all the accumulated plastics in the blood and tissues start reforming into larger structures. As these grow towards the point of least resistance (usually the skin and soft organs) they will form into spikes that can cause internal and external damage. While individual surgery is possible, new spikes will keep forming, and the root catalyst of the polymerization is still unknown to science.

From the article:

In a world where the scale of plastic pollution can feel overwhelming, 2025 brought a milestone worth celebrating: The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit dedicated to removing plastic from marine environments, pulled more than 25 million kilograms of waste from global waters last year alone. That’s over 55 million pounds or about 2,000 garbage trucks’ worth of plastic that is no longer drifting through our oceans. The achievement brings their cumulative haul to more than 45 million kilos (99 million pounds) since operations began.

In addition to removing huge amounts of plastic waste from the ocean, Ocean Cleanup is also now focusing on devices to collect plastic trash from rivers.

A recent analysis by Ocean Cleanup found that 80% of ocean plastic comes from just 1,000 (1%) of rivers. Stopping plastic at the source so it never even gets to the ocean is significantly easier and cheaper--especially when there are a relatively small number of rivers to focus on for the biggest impact.

Fish gills may inspire an unexpected solution to one of our biggest sources of microplastics. According to researchers at Germany’s University of Bonn, taking a cue from the animals’ filtration systems might help remove the vast majority of harmful plastic particulates from washing machine wastewater. Microplastics are a huge problem. At this point, they can be found both inside our bodies as well as some of the Earth’s most remote locations. Aside from taking thousands of years to decompose, the particles are increasingly linked to a wide array of health issues.