Citrus Pectin
Pectinum citri
Also known as: Modified Citrus Pectin, MCP
Overview
A soluble fiber from citrus peel. A specially processed "modified" form (MCP) increased urinary excretion of heavy metals in a few small, uncontrolled pilot studies, every one of them involving the company that sells the tested product. That preliminary finding has been challenged in the peer-reviewed literature, has never been confirmed in a randomized controlled trial, and has not been shown for ordinary, unmodified citrus pectin — which is fermented by gut bacteria rather than absorbed into the bloodstream.
Proposed mechanism
In laboratory and animal studies, modified citrus pectin binds galectin-3, a protein involved in inflammation and scar-tissue formation (fibrosis). The one small placebo-controlled human trial of that mechanism found no change in fibrosis markers. For heavy metals, the human evidence is limited to a few small, uncontrolled pilot studies and case reports, nearly all conducted by researchers connected to the company that makes the tested product. They reported more arsenic and cadmium in the urine, and lower blood lead in a small group of lead-poisoned children — but none included a placebo or comparison group, and an independent reviewer found that the reported figures did not match the studies' own data. Modified citrus pectin has never been tested head-to-head against pharmaceutical chelators such as EDTA, and its safety and effectiveness for heavy-metal detoxification in humans remain unproven.
Mechanisms describe how researchers think a compound may act, often from laboratory work — a proposed mechanism is not proof of a clinical effect in people.
Traditional & studied uses
Related pathways
Pathway tags are a research aid for browsing the glossary — they are not a claim that this ingredient treats any condition.