Methylene Blue - something to keep an eye on???

Methylene Blue is a dye that was found to be bioactive, and has been in use in one way or another for over 100 years to treat a variety of ailments, but in most applications it has been replaced by more modern drugs.
Interesting Methylene Blue is the first synthetic chemical substance ever used therapeutically - in 1886. Because of its long history of use, we have a pretty clear idea about its toxicology. Humans have
taken 300 mg/day of methylene blue (corresponding to 4.3 mg/kg for a 70 kg person) for one year without significant side effects (Naylor et al., 1986).

It has recently been discovered that the effects of Methylene Blue are highly dose dependent. (Powerpoint synopsis of the research to date)
At very low doses the dye becomes an electron donor, assisting the mitochondria - the cell's power plants - to work while creating less oxidative damage.

Great attention is now being paid to the function of mitochondria in a wide range of disease states related to ageing, with mitochondrial neogenesis being a target of many drugs and regimes related to healthy life span, and implicated in life extension in lower animals.

The initial research  on MB - carried out in the late 1970's - showed an effect on memory. More recent research in the last 12 months has significantly broadened the field of activity, with a clear understanding that MBs activity is dose dependent.

MB may possibly be set to join the list of  chemicals such as resveratrol and curcumin (another dye) which have been shown to have effects that, while not necessarily promoting extended lifespan, appear to promote extended healthy lifespan,which is in many ways more important, from a subjective perspective. As of yet,few human trials have been carried out with MB, and little is known about its long term impact on the body at low chronic dosages.

There is an interesting overview on this chemical here, and an NIH synopsis of the latest science here

Methylene Blue is interesting, because it is extremely cheap. At the low doses where a positive effect is registered,there are few known side effects - the dosages used historically are an order or magnitude larger - sometimes 2 orders of magnitude -  a massive difference in dosage.

Note to self:

More on mitochondria here - see footnotes

Strategies to prevent Alzheimer's Disease - Atamna et alia.

Memory improvement with low dose MB (Doctoral Thesis)

Methylene Blue diffusion in skin tissue