Chewing gum can also release microplastics according to studies

 

Microplastics have been found in water, air and everyday items ranging from tea bags to agricultural products.

According to a Health report published on March 31, 2025, new research suggests that chewing gum may also release tiny plastic particles.

Research results presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) spring meeting in March 2025 showed that chewing gum can release hundreds of microplastics into saliva.

The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, also showed that synthetic and natural gums released nearly the same amount of microplastics when chewed.

Microplastics are tiny pieces of polymers that cannot be broken down and can accumulate in the bloodstream and organs when inhaled or swallowed.

Given the growing number of papers emerging about how microplastics are seeping out of consumer products, Lisa Lowe, a study author and PhD student at the University of California, Los Angeles, and her team wanted to identify other potential sources of microplastics, such as chewing gum.

Researchers decided to test 10 popular chewing gums, five natural and five synthetic, sold in the United States.

They asked a group of participants to gargle three to five times with deionized water to determine the amount of microplastics in their mouths at the start of the experiment.

Study participants were then asked to chew each type of gum for four minutes and some for an additional 20 minutes, while researchers collected their saliva samples.