Spinach and other rich green plants have a unique pigment that could allow doctors to examine the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract with a clearer view.

While x-rays, MRI scans, ultrasounds and endoscopies are the go-to techniques when taking a look at the gastrointestinal tract, these methods include increased risks of health complications, minimal access and a lack of adequate contrast.

To improve these techniques, researchers at the University of Buffalo and the University of Wisconsin-Madison focused their study on chlorophyll. 

“Our work suggests that this spinach-like, nanoparticle juice can help doctors get a better look at what’s happening inside the stomach, intestines and other areas of the GI tract,” wrote the authors.

Jonathan Lovell, assistant professor in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, says that the veggie juice opens up the possibilities of using techniques that are not commonly used by physicians for imaging the gut, such as photoacoustic, PET and fluorescence.

And Lovell adds, “part of the appeal is the safety of the juice.”

Additional studies will need to be performed to prove this technique to be completely effective, but the benefits of using new imaging techniques, moving stably through the gut and the fact that veggie juice is already a natural consumption in the human diet, has proven to be a promising technique.