Functional Microbiome R&D Platform · Microplastic Health Defense

In the age of microplastics,
the answer comes from within us.

A human-origin microbial strain selected to counter microplastic toxicity — Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DePlastox™ PD01. Isolated through human-origin directed screening from the gut of 138 healthy young Chinese adults; published in a Nature Portfolio journal and tested in a randomized, double-blind human RCT at hundred-participant scale.

Talk to Our Team → Read the Evidence
  • npj Science of FoodNature Portfolio publication
  • NCT07416214Randomized double-blind human RCT
  • 10+ / 6Invention patents filed / granted
  • CGMCC 30386National strain deposit number
  • 10,000+Strain library collection

THE REALITY

Microplastic exposure is now part of everyday life.

Microplastics enter and accumulate in the human body via diet and respiration, and are linked to endocrine disruption, chronic inflammation, and cancer risk. Peer-reviewed studies keep finding them in human tissue — and the evidence grows every year.

You cannot fully avoid them. But the gut is the body's largest interface with the environment — and therefore the most actionable point of intervention.

See how PD01 works → See the human RCT data →

Note: the studies cited are independent scientific literature, © the original research teams; data are not efficacy claims.

A STRAIN UPGRADED

One strain, two missions.

DePlastox™ PD01 is not just another probiotic — behind every dose is a dual answer: real microplastic binding + barrier detoxification.

PD01 Free microplastic particles in the gut PD01 Particles bound and excreted with feces Unbound

Schematic based on the published mechanism. In vitro, PD01 showed a 78.90% adsorption rate for 5 μm polystyrene particles (paper, Figure 7A). Not an efficacy claim.

LAYER 01

Real Microplastic Binding

Escorting ingested microplastics out of the gut

  • Animal study: total intestinal microplastic load down 57.83% (mice, 4 weeks)
  • Polystyrene (PS) fraction down 91.35%
  • In vitro: 78.90% adsorption of 5 μm PS particles (paper, Figure 7A)

LAYER 02

Barrier Detoxification

Reducing the damage microplastics cause along the way

  • In vitro: pre-adsorption by PD01 mitigated microplastic-induced antioxidant-enzyme disruption (paper, Figure 7D)
  • In mice: pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β significantly downregulated (paper, Figures 5C–D)
  • Also suppressed microplastic-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and weight gain; restored gut barrier and microbiota balance

Binding is the foundation. Detoxification is the differentiator.

  • Fully genome-sequenced
  • No virulence factors · no antibiotic resistance
  • On China NHC edible-strain list
  • European QPS · US GRAS expectations

PUBLISHED SCIENCE

Published in a Nature Portfolio journal.

The research was jointly completed by Fudan University, the Institute of Urban Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen University, a key laboratory of the National Health Commission for food-safety risk assessment, and the FABIOTICS team — published in npj Science of Food.

npj Science of Food Nature Portfolio

Human-origin directed screening: starting from "super-excretor" individuals

The team deliberately departed from the traditional path of sourcing strains from fermented foods. They built a human microplastic-exposure microbiome database and a directed screening method: identifying the strongest natural microplastic excretors among 138 healthy young Chinese adults, then screening thousands of species in their gut microbiota stepwise to isolate DePlastox™ PD01.

  1. 138 healthy young Chinese adults → human microplastic-exposure microbiome database
  2. Identify the strongest natural excretors — "super-excretor" individuals
  3. Stepwise screening of 1,000+ gut species → DePlastox™ PD01

In B2B technical materials this methodology is abbreviated HODS (Human-Origin Directed Screening).

57.83%

reduction in total intestinal microplastics
animal study · mice, 4 weeks · published

91.35%

reduction in the polystyrene (PS) fraction
fraction-specific data, not total load · published

5.85×

higher L. plantarum abundance in high excretors
138-person cross-sectional · association study (Figure 2A)

Paper DOI: 10.1038/s41538-026-01045-6 ｜ All animal/in-vitro figures are cited with their study type.

HUMAN RCT

Not stopping at animal data.

"Microplastic-binding microbe" concepts have mostly remained at the in-vitro and animal stage. PD01 closes the human-evidence gap.

0%–0%

significant reduction in urinary plastic-associated chemical residues after 6 weeks of intervention
hundred-participant scale · randomized · double-blind · human RCT (trial data)

  1. 138-person cross-sectional cohort
    exposure–microbiome database
  2. Human-origin directed screening
    super-excretor individuals → PD01
  3. Hundred-participant RCT
    randomized · double-blind · NCT07416214
  4. 6-week intervention
    urinary plastic-associated chemicals down 35%–60%
"The first clinical evidence that microbial intervention can reduce plastic-associated burden in the human body."

Clinical registration: NCT07416214 (ClinicalTrials.gov, completed) ｜ RCT preprint: medRxiv, DOI 10.64898/2026.08.12.26360001. Double-blind design and registration verified against ClinicalTrials.gov records.

GENERATION 2.0

Microplastic-binding microbes: 1.0 vs 2.0.

The category is not new — first movers since 2023 pioneered it with food-sourced strains. The generational difference comes down to one word: human origin.

Dimension Gen 1.0
Food-sourced pioneers (since 2023)		 Gen 2.0 · DePlastox™ PD01
Human-origin · FABIOTICS
Strain source Fermented foods and other conventional sources Human gut (healthy young Chinese adults)
Screening logic High-throughput screening of food isolates — partly luck Human-origin directed screening: find the "super excretor" first, then the strain
Evidence format In-vitro + animal studies Nature Portfolio publication + randomized double-blind human RCT
Intervention scope Binding only Dual pathway: binding + detoxification (barrier repair, cytokine modulation)
Verifiable IDs — NCT07416214 · CGMCC 30386 · paper DOI 10.1038/s41538-026-01045-6

The generational narrative is an objective description of publicly documented research status. The pioneering contribution of Gen-1.0 first movers deserves acknowledgment — we let the evidence speak.

THE PLATFORM

PD01 is one answer from a broader platform.

What determines its value is what it works with, and which applications it covers — backed by the strain library and pipeline behind the platform.

10,000+

Strain Library

Sourced across two ecosystems — the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and the Fujian coastline — including rich next-generation propionibacteria resources. Library depth is the platform's first hard moat.

Formulation Development

Formulations are the real purchasing unit for functional ingredients. Built around PD01, multi-strain formulations span child growth, high-altitude hypoxia & anti-aging, and more.

R&D Platforms

High-throughput screening, mutagenesis & identification ｜ in-vitro bionic / animal efficacy platforms ｜ strict anaerobic cultivation ｜ industry-leading powder stability and loss-free flexible-concentration drying — 50+ tons/year lyophilized powder capacity.

Intellectual Property

10+ national invention patent applications with 6 granted; PCT international application (PCT/CN2025/102722) filed; multiple co-publications with academic partners in leading international journals.

Industry–academia co-development — DePlastox™ PD01 is the product of deep collaboration.

THE TEAM

Founded by scientists, built for evidence.

Dr. Song Huang Founder & CEO · Co-corresponding author

PhD, INRAE (France). Former DuPont cultures scientist and technical lead of global culture-development programs. Co-corresponding author of the npj Science of Food paper.

Dr. Yuebiao Feng Co-founder

Postdoctoral fellow in microbial epidemiology at Yale; PhD in microbiology from Fudan University. Formerly cell-process project lead at Innovent and senior scientist at a leading synthetic-biology company; published in Nature Microbiology and Cell Reports.

Long-term Research Collaborators

  • Fudan University
  • Institute of Urban Environment, CAS
  • Xiamen University
  • NHC Key Laboratory for Food Safety Risk Assessment
  • Lanzhou University
  • INRAE (France)
  • Sino-French Joint Lab LIA-FOODPRINT

Scientific advisors: Romain Jeantet (President, L'Institut Agro, France) · Gwenael Jan (Research Director, INRAE, France).

FAQ

What B2B partners ask most.

What is DePlastox™ PD01?

A human-origin microbial strain selected to counter microplastic toxicity — Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DePlastox™ PD01, deposited as CGMCC NO.30386. The research was jointly completed with Fudan University, the Institute of Urban Environment (CAS), Xiamen University, and an NHC key laboratory, and published in npj Science of Food (Nature Portfolio).

What is "human-origin directed screening"?

Rather than sourcing strains from fermented foods, the team built a human microplastic-exposure microbiome database, identified the strongest natural excretors among 138 healthy young Chinese adults, and screened the thousands of species in their gut microbiota stepwise to isolate PD01. The strain comes from humans and was selected for human exposure scenarios — the fundamental difference from first-generation approaches. Abbreviated HODS in B2B technical materials.

What were the human clinical trial results?

The strain completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human RCT at hundred-participant scale (NCT07416214). After 6 weeks of intervention, urinary levels of typical plastic-associated chemicals were significantly reduced, in the range of 35%–60%.

How is PD01's safety established?

Fully genome-sequenced: no virulence factors, no antibiotic-resistance genes. Meets China's NHC edible-strain list, European QPS, and US GRAS expectations.

What partnership models do you offer?

For nutraceutical, functional F&B, and dairy customers: FABYIO® flagship strain ingredient supply, multi-strain formulation development around PD01, and full-chain custom strain development — from high-throughput screening and IP strategy to industrialization.

How can I verify the data on this page?
  • Paper DOI: 10.1038/s41538-026-01045-6
  • Clinical registration: NCT07416214 (ClinicalTrials.gov)
  • RCT preprint: DOI 10.64898/2026.08.12.26360001 (medRxiv)
  • Invention patent: ZL 2024 1 1547090.6 ｜ PCT: PCT/CN2025/102722
  • Strain deposit: CGMCC NO.30386

WORK WITH US

Put a human-origin microplastic-binding strain in your product.

Ingredient supply · formulation development · full-chain custom strains. Brands, R&D and sourcing teams, and research institutions are welcome to get in touch.

bd@fabiotics.cn Back to top

Xiamen, Fujian, China (R&D center hosted in a CAS-partnered laboratory)