It seems as though the market for new supplements and vitamins is a revolving door these days. Stepping into the Vitamin Shoppe, you're likely to see shelves upon shelves of them - in 2016, it was proposed that Americans spend somewhere around $30 billion dollars per year on supplements alone (Nahin et. al, 2016). A surprising recent addition to this line of products is Chlorophyll - yes, the green plant pigment. Some of the most popular touted benefits of such a supplement include, but of course are not limited to elimination of body odor, heal damaged skin, aid in weight loss, and neutralize toxins - as expected, the list goes on, seemingly becoming more far-fetched as it does.
That being said, Chlorophyll supplementation is not to go without any consideration. A 2016 study by Wang et. al investigated the affect of chlorophyll supplementation on oxidative stress and aging in Caenorhabditis elegans (Wang et. al, 2016). The team extracted Chlorophyll from spinach and administered it to C. elegans in several different doses, later exposing them to oxidative stress via the toxin Juglone for a period of 3 hours (Wang et. al, 2016). The worms who were treated with the Chlorophyll were found to have their survival rate to the toxin increase by 207.5%, as opposed to the control group (Wang et. al, 2016). That being said, it was found that a high dose of Chlorophyll was necessary in order to exhibit these effects. Additionally, wild type C. elegans were treated with various levels of Chlorophyll and observed for life-span duration - it was found that post-administration, life span increased in a dose-dependent manner, as opposed to the control group (Wang et. al, 2016).
As amazing as this all sounds, perhaps don't reach for the little green bottle just yet. It is important to remember that dietary sources of Chlorophyll are readily available at the grocery store, or perhaps even in your fridge already - leafy vegetables (spinach, collared greens, broccoli). Additionally, it is important to remember that the FDA does not hold the authority to regulate dietary supplements in regards to effectiveness or safety (FDA, 2022) - i.e, you may not really even be sure that what you're purchasing is the all-mighty Chlorophyll. If it were me? I'd reach for the spinach.
References:
Commissioner, O. of the. (n.d.). FDA 101: Dietary supplements. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved November 28, 2022, from https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-101- dietary-supplements
- Nahin RL, Barnes PM, Stussman BJ. Expenditures on complementary health approaches: United States, 2012. (433KB PDF) National Health Statistics Reports. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2016.
- Wang, E., & Wink, M. (2016). Chlorophyll enhances oxidative stress tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans and extends its lifespan. PeerJ, 4, e1879. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1879
I've always been interested and curious of the benefits of Chlorophyll. I have only a surface level understanding and wondered if the buzz surrounding Chlorophyll was due to it being a novel supplement or a patent health remedy. I think due to advertisement and access it allowed people to have easier access rather than seeking out the vegetables and so forth that would essentially provide them with the same benefits.
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