What's That Rash? Methylene blue: why are people drinking blue dye?
Jul 15, 2025
20:00
In a video that went viral, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was seen on a plane dropping a cobalt blue liquid into his drink.
People quickly started to assume it was methylene blue, a substance that in some corners is being heralded for apparent anti-ageing properties.
Norman and Tegan look at the research that has been done so far … and some of the risks of dosing yourself with unproven medications.
References:
- Efficacy and safety of methylene blue in the treatment of malaria: a systematic review
- Methylene blue as antidote for cyanide poisoning - JAMA
- Cellular and Molecular Actions of Methylene Blue in the Nervous System
- Methylene Blue: The Little-Known Disinfectant
- The Potentials of Methylene Blue as an Anti-Aging Drug - PMC
- Is methylene blue really a brain booster? A pharmacologist explains the science
- From Mitochondrial Function to Neuroprotection—an Emerging Role for Methylene Blue | Molecular Neurobiology
- Anti-Aging Potentials of Methylene Blue for Human Skin Longevity | Scientific Reports
- What to know about methylene blue - Harvard Health
- Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of methylene blue trihydrate (Cas No. 7220-79-3) in F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice
- Chromoendoscopy with methylene blue and associated DNA damage in Barrett's oesophagus - The Lancet
- Generation of oxidant stress in cultured endothelial cells by methylene blue: protective effects of glucose and ascorbic acid - ScienceDirect
- The photodynamic and direct actions of methylene blue on mitochondrial energy metabolism: A balance of the useful and harmful effects of this photosensitizer
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