TikTok's latest health trend has creators drinking methylene blue to boost their brain function. Our medical experts break ...

Methylene blue (ProvayBlue) is a medication that treats a rare blood condition called methemoglobinemia. Find out how it works, who it’s for, side effects, and more.

Over the past five or 10 years, methylene blue has come to be touted online as a so-called nootropic agent—a substance that enhances cognitive function. Vendors claim that it amps up brain ...

Today, methylene blue is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat methemoglobinemia, which is a rare disease that limits the oxygen-carrying capacity of our blood cells, she says.

The secret to retinol is that it encourages cell death, whereas Methylene Blue extends the life of a skin cell and helps create healthy cells. Because of that, it’s not recommended to combine ...

In February 2025, shortly before he was confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in a video squirting a blue liquid widely presumed to be methylene blue into ...

Methylene blue has been shown to support mental clarity, memory, and emotional regulation. It quickly crosses the blood-brain barrier, improving blood flow and energizing brain cells.

Health influencers – perhaps including Health Secretary RFK Jr. – are promoting the chemical as an elixir that improves memory and focus. But evidence for these claims is thin.

For example, researchers have found that methylene blue may improve learning, boost memory and protect brain cells in rats with a condition that mimics Alzheimer’s disease.

In people with a rare genetic deficiency of an enzyme called G6PD, methylene blue can cause a dangerous condition in which red blood cells break down too quickly. At high doses, the chemical can ...

Over the past five or 10 years, methylene blue has come to be touted online as a so-called nootropic agent – a substance that enhances cognitive function. Vendors claim that it amps up brain ...

Methylene blue inhibits a molecule called monoamine oxidase, whose job is to break down an important brain chemical, serotonin. Many commonly used medications for treating anxiety and depression ...