Chlorophyll, Why It Is Important To Us

Chlorophyll has been called the blood of plants. It is the green pigment found in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. The name chlorophyll comes from two Greek words, chloros meaning green and phyllon meaning leaf. Chlorophyll absorbs light and is what allows the plants to obtain energy from that light. The Chlorophyll appears to be green because of the wavelength of the light it absorbs. Simply put, the different components of chlorophyll, through transfers of electrons, take CO2 or carbon dioxide and produce sugar and take water and through oxidation, produce O2 gas and H+ gas. Most plants grown in the dark are pale because there is no light be absorbed by the chlorophyll. There are some non-vascular plants and green algae which have a light-independent enzyme that produces the green in the darkness.

Chlorophyll is bound to proteins and can transfer the absorbed energy through these proteins. Scientists have found that chlorophyll has the same chemical structure as the human blood and this is why we get such health-promoting benefits from it. Although they are put together the same way, the center molecule in the blood structure is iron, and the center molecule in chlorophyll is magnesium. The juice of plants is quickly absorbed within our bodies and carries valuable nutrients through the blood to the cells of our bodies. It is great for the immune system and a powerful natural detoxifier.

Chlorophyll was first isolated by Joseph Bienaime Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier in 1817. Chlorophyll is not water soluble and is unstable when extracted from plants, making it important to drink the juice quickly after extracting it. In 1997, Frank S. and Lisa Sagliano first freeze dried the liquid chlorophyll at the University of Florida, making it possible to preserve it as a powder for future use.

Back in the 1700’s it was discovered that plants would clean the dirty air just by being present in the places where the dirty air was. It is the chlorophyll in the plants that performs this miracle and it does it while turning light, carbon dioxide and water into sugars, oxygen and hydrogen.

When green vegetables are cooked, the magnesium in the center of the chlorophyll molecule is replaced by hydrogen. If we cook it until the bright green color is gone and the color is gray green, we can be assured that most of the chlorophyll has been changed and is no longer chlorophyll.

There is much ongoing research into the healing benefits of chlorophyll in the areas of cancer especially. It will be interesting to follow this and see if healing is possible through this interesting chemical.