Sodium copper chlorophyllin is a water-soluble, semi-synthetic compound derived from natural chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants. It’s made by chemically modifying chlorophyll to swap out its central magnesium atom for copper and remove a long hydrocarbon tail, producing a stable green powder that dissolves easily in water. You’ll find it in food coloring, dietary supplements marketed as “liquid chlorophyll,” topical skin products, and certain over-the-counter medications for odor control.
How It’s Made From Chlorophyll
Natural chlorophyll has a specific architecture: a magnesium atom sits at the center of a ring-shaped structure, with a long fatty chain (called a phytol tail) attached by a chemical bond. This design makes chlorophyll fat-soluble, meaning it doesn’t mix with water, and it breaks down quickly when exposed to heat, light, acidic conditions, or oxygen. Those instability problems make raw chlorophyll difficult to use in food products, supplements, or anything with a shelf life.
To create sodium copper chlorophyllin, manufacturers extract chlorophyll from alfalfa using solvents like acetone, ethanol, or hexane. They then treat the extract with sodium hydroxide, which strips away the phytol tail, and replace the magnesium atom at the center with copper. The result is a green-to-black powder that dissolves in water, holds its color far longer than natural chlorophyll, resists breakdown from heat and light, and is more readily absorbed by the human body. This is why the “chlorophyll drops” you see on store shelves are almost always sodium copper chlorophyllin, not actual chlorophyll.
How It Differs From Natural Chlorophyll
The distinction matters because these two compounds behave very differently. Natural chlorophyll is fragile. It degrades with changes in pH, temperature, and oxygen exposure, which alters both its color and its biological properties. It’s also insoluble in water, which limits how much your body can absorb through digestion.
Sodium copper chlorophyllin solves these problems. The copper center is more tightly bound than magnesium, so the molecule holds together under conditions that would destroy natural chlorophyll. Its water solubility means it mixes easily into beverages and is better suited for absorption in the digestive tract. If a supplement label says “chlorophyll” but the ingredient list reads “sodium copper chlorophyllin” or “chlorophyllin copper complex,” you’re getting this modified version, not the same molecule found in spinach leaves.
Uses in Food and Cosmetics
In the United States, the FDA permits sodium copper chlorophyllin as a color additive in citrus-based dry beverage mixes at concentrations up to 0.2 percent of the dry mix. It’s also approved for use in toothpastes (both drug and cosmetic formulations) at up to 0.1 percent. The chlorophyll used must be extracted from alfalfa, and batches are exempt from the FDA’s color additive certification process.
In Europe, it carries the food additive code E141(ii) and appears in a wider range of products. Its vivid, stable green color makes it useful in foods where natural chlorophyll would fade or turn brown during processing. Beyond coloring, it shows up in skin care products, where it’s valued for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Odor Control and Medical Applications
The longest-standing medical use of sodium copper chlorophyllin is as an internal deodorant. In the 1940s and 1950s, clinicians noticed that applying it topically to foul-smelling wounds reduced odor. That observation led to trials where patients with colostomies and ileostomies took it orally, and it successfully reduced fecal and body odor. It also eased constipation and gas in geriatric patients. Today, you can still buy over-the-counter chlorophyllin tablets marketed specifically for odor management in people with ostomies or bowel conditions.
A small study in Japanese patients with trimethylaminuria, a metabolic condition that causes a persistent fishy body odor, found that taking 60 mg of sodium copper chlorophyllin three times daily for three weeks significantly lowered the concentration of the odor-causing compound in urine. The exact mechanism behind these deodorizing effects isn’t fully established, but early research showed that chlorophyllin slowed the growth of certain anaerobic bacteria in laboratory settings, which may play a role since many body odors originate from bacterial metabolism.
Skin and Wound Healing
Topical sodium copper chlorophyllin has a history in wound care, where it was used to accelerate healing of skin ulcers and reduce wound odor. Animal studies from the 1940s supported its wound-healing effects. More recent research has explored its use in skin conditions like rosacea, where topical formulations reduced facial redness. The compound’s combination of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and wound-healing properties makes it a versatile ingredient in dermatology, and it now appears in serums and creams marketed for aging skin and uneven skin tone.
Safety Profile
Sodium copper chlorophyllin has a generous safety margin. The joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives evaluated animal studies and found no adverse effects up to 1,500 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. Applying a 200-fold safety factor to that number, the FDA calculated an acceptable daily intake of 450 mg per day for an 80-kilogram (roughly 176-pound) person. Most supplements contain 100 to 200 mg per serving, well within that limit.
The most commonly reported side effects are cosmetic rather than medical. Oral doses can turn your stool dark green or greenish-black, and your tongue or urine may also take on a green tint. These color changes are harmless and reverse once you stop taking the supplement. Some people experience mild digestive discomfort, including loose stools, particularly at higher doses.
One thing worth noting: because the compound contains copper, people with conditions that cause copper accumulation (such as Wilson’s disease) should be cautious. For most people, the amount of copper in standard supplement doses is negligible relative to normal dietary copper intake.