CHLOROPHYLL BENEFITS

CHLOROPHYLL
BENEFITS

Chlorophyll is the chemical in plants accomplishes photosynthesis and
it is responsible for the green color of the plant. Chlorophyll can be
found in dark green leafy vegetables, some algae, wheat grass and
barley grass. Historically, chlorophyll was used to improve bad breath,
and reduce the odors of urine and feces. It was also believed that it
might have health benefits on constipation and anemia.
Some preliminary evidence suggests that chlorophyll might have
anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound-healing activities. [1,2]
Chlorophyll has also been shown to have benefits on chemoprevention.

RESEARCH STUDIES

ANTI-CANCER ACTIVITIES
A few studies have shown that chlorophyll prevents the detrimental,
cytotoxic and hyperproliferative colonic effects of dietary haem. Diets
high in red meat are associated with increased colon cancer risk. This
association might be partly due to the haem content of red meat. In
rats, dietary haem is metabolized in the gut to a cytotoxic factor that
increases colonic cytotoxicity and epithelial proliferation. Chlorophyll is
magnesium porphyrin structurally analogous to haem. In a study,
researchers fed rats with a purified control diet or purified diets
supplemented with 0.5 mmol haem/kg, spinach (chlorophyll
concentration 1.2 mmol/kg) or haem plus spinach (n = 8/group) for 14
days. Researchers found that haem increased cytotoxicity of the colonic
contents approximately 8-fold and proliferation of the colonocytes
almost 2-fold. Spinach or an equimolar amount of chlorophyll
supplement in the haem diet inhibited these haem effects completely.
[3]

ANTI-DIABETIC ACTIVITIES
Chlorophyll may have health benefits on diabetes, as researchers
believe. Synthetic ligands of the retinoid X receptor (RXR) have shown
antidiabetic activity in mice. The chlorophyll metabolite phytanic acid
has been shown to be a natural ligand for RXR, active in concentrations
near its physiological levels. It is thus reasonable to suspect that
phytanic acid may have utility for treatment and prevention of human
type 2 diabetes. [4]

REFERENCES: [1] Rudolph C. The therapeutic value of chlorophyll. Clin Med Surg 1930;37:119-21 [2]
Chernomorsky SA, Segelman AB. Biological activities of chlorophyll derivatives. N J Med 1988;85:669-73.
[3] de Vogel J et al, Green vegetables, red meat and colon cancer: chlorophyll prevents the cytotoxic and
hyperproliferative effects of haem in rat colon. Carcinogenesis. 2005 Feb;26(2):387-93. Epub 2004 Nov 18. [4]
McCarty MF, The chlorophyll metabolite phytanic acid is a natural rexinoid--potential for treatment and
prevention of diabetes. Med Hypotheses. 2001 Feb;56(2):217-9.

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