Methylene blue helps mitochondria, the energy factories in our cells, move electrons more smoothly so they don’t accidentally create harmful waste molecules called reactive oxygen species.

Methylene blue helps liver cells in mice stay alive when they're damaged by certain drugs by giving them an alternate way to make energy, stopping harmful stress and cell death.

Methylene blue acts as an alternative electron carrier in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, enhancing cellular ATP production and modulating monoaminergic neurotransmission to reduce fasting-induced metabolic stress and appetite.

Scientists found that a blue dye called methylene blue can help fix a broken energy system in mouse brain cells, but a related chemical called azure I can't — meaning only the original dye can jump over a specific energy block.

In a lab test with mouse brain cells, a chemical called methylene blue makes the energy-producing parts of the cells work harder without using energy to make ATP, while another chemical called azure I doesn’t do anything. This suggests methylene blue might be messing with how the cells normally control their energy production.

Methylene blue makes mitochondria produce more hydrogen peroxide, but if you block a specific part of the energy chain (Complex III), that extra production stops—meaning methylene blue needs that part to work.