Chlorophyllin Shown To Decrease Risk Significantly.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Taking chlorophyllin greatly reduces the levels of aflatoxin-DNA damage byproducts in the body, which are indicators of exposure to carcinogenic aflatoxins and increased risk of liver cancer.

Chlorophyllin is a derivative of chlorophyll and is used as an over-the-counter diet supplement and as a food colorant. The results appear in the November 27, 2001, edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. The study was conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"Our study shows that taking chlorophyllin three times a day reduced the amounts of aflatoxin-DNA damage by 55% compared with taking a placebo," says Thomas Kensler, PhD, professor of environmental health sciences at the Bloomberg School. "Taking chlorophyllin or eating green vegetables, like spinach, that are rich in chlorophyll may be a practical way of reducing the risk of liver cancer and other cancers caused by environmental triggers."

Kensler and his colleagues conducted a double-blind study among residents of Qidong, China. The people of the region have an extraordinarily high rate of liver cancer, which is due in part from routinely eating foods contaminated with carcinogenic aflatoxins. The aflatoxin is produced by molds found in foods such as corn, peanuts, soy sauce and fermented soybeans.

For the study, researchers recruited 180 healthy adults. Half of the group was given 100 mg tablets of chlorophyllin to take three times a day with meals for four months. The other half was given a placebo. Urine and blood samples were taken over four months to determine the ...