A water-soluble semi-synthetic derivative of chlorophyll in which the central magnesium is replaced by copper. It is not chlorophyll, despite being sold as "liquid chlorophyll".
Chlorophyllin has one genuinely interesting piece of human evidence and a great deal of marketing unrelated to it. In a randomised trial in Qidong, China, where dietary aflatoxin exposure is high, chlorophyllin taken with meals substantially reduced urinary levels of an aflatoxin-DNA adduct — a real biomarker result attributed to the molecule binding aflatoxin in the gut and reducing its absorption. That is a specific finding about a specific carcinogen exposure, and it has been generalised into claims about internal cleansing, body odour and skin that it does not support. The older internal deodorant use in people with colostomies was reviewed by a US regulatory panel, which found the evidence insufficient. It is also worth knowing that the green drink sold as chlorophyll is a copper complex.
Sold as
Liquid drops, Tablet, Capsule, Added to beverages
Standardised to
Milligrams of sodium copper chlorophyllin; copper content is the number worth knowing and is rarely stated — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.
Regulation: Sold as a dietary supplement in the US with no pre-market efficacy review. A US regulatory review of chlorophyllin for internal deodorant use concluded the evidence was insufficient. It is also permitted as a food colouring in several jurisdictions.
What the research used
The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Chlorophyllin actually administered.
These are the amounts published trials administered — not a recommendation, and not a dose to copy. Trial participants were screened, supervised and given a characterised preparation. What is in a retail bottle is frequently not what was studied, and the amount that suits one person is not general advice.
Studied for Aflatoxin adduct reduction
100 mg
Moderate
Chlorophyllin three times daily, with meals · 4 months
From the Qidong randomised trial in a population with high dietary aflatoxin exposure. The endpoint was a urinary DNA adduct, and the setting is not comparable to general supplement use.
Studied for Internal deodorant use
100–300 mg
Not enough
Daily, divided
The historical dose in people with colostomies. A regulatory review concluded the evidence for this use was insufficient.
This is general information about food, not medical advice. It cannot diagnose, treat or replace guidance from a clinician who knows your history.
When it was taken
Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.
None of the timings below were directly compared in a trial. They reflect how the research happened to dose, or what the pharmacology implies — which is not the same as a timing being better.
🍽️With food
Limited
Taken with meals in the aflatoxin trial, because the proposed mechanism is binding the toxin in the gut so it is not absorbed. That is mechanistically coherent and was how the trial dosed it, though the timing itself was not separately compared.
Timing was not directly compared. This reflects convention or how the compound behaves in the body, not a trial showing this window works better.
The evidence in depth
Best supported: Limited
What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how promising the supplement sounds. How we rate evidence.
A randomised trial in a high-aflatoxin-exposure population found chlorophyllin taken with meals reduced urinary aflatoxin-DNA adducts substantially. This is a biomarker of carcinogen exposure in a specific setting, not a demonstrated health outcome, and it does not generalise to populations without that exposure.
What may be going on: Chlorophyllin forms tight complexes with planar aromatic carcinogens such as aflatoxin in the gut, reducing their absorption.
Limited evidence. Early human work, or mostly lab and animal research.
Topical chlorophyllin has small studies in acne and photodamage. Oral chlorophyllin for skin has no adequate trial support, despite being the main reason it is currently sold.
Not enough evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.
Randomised controlled trial · Journal of drugs in dermatology : JDD · 2015 · PMID 25844615
Deep research mode adds each paper’s own conclusion and stated limitations.
Things to know
Interactions, contraindications and dose limits, most serious first. Concentrated extracts interact with medication in ways the whole plant does not, so this section carries more weight here than it does on a food page.
Worth knowing
It contains copper, and the amount is rarely stated
Sodium copper chlorophyllin is a copper complex. Regular high intake contributes copper, which matters for anyone with Wilson's disease or impaired copper handling, and few products state the copper content.
Worth knowing
The aflatoxin finding does not generalise
The good evidence concerns reducing absorption of a specific dietary carcinogen in a population heavily exposed to it. That is not a general cleansing effect, and marketing that extends it to everyday use is describing something the trial did not test.
Too much
Green discoloration and photosensitivity
Green stools, a green tongue and occasionally green urine are expected and harmless. Diarrhoea and cramping occur at higher doses, and chlorophyllin can increase sensitivity to sunlight.
Worth knowing
Not the same as dietary chlorophyll
Natural chlorophyll from green vegetables is fat-soluble, magnesium-centred and poorly absorbed. The supplement is a semi-synthetic water-soluble copper derivative, and calling it "liquid chlorophyll" obscures that difference.
In the food catalogue
The whole-food form, where one exists. The evidence for a concentrated extract rarely transfers to the food, or the other way round — these are cross-links, not equivalents.