diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7d7ab423..cfe5b441 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ If you're using `pdfplumber` on a Debian-based system and encounter a `PolicyErr
 
 | Method | Description |
 |--------|-------------|
-|`.find_tables(table_settings={})`|Returns a list of `Table` objects. The `Table` object provides access to the `.cells`, `.rows`, and `.bbox` properties, as well as the `.extract(x_tolerance=3, y_tolerance=3)` method.|
+|`.find_tables(table_settings={})`|Returns a list of `Table` objects. The `Table` object provides access to the `.cells`, `.rows`, and `.bbox` properties, as well as the `.extract(x_tolerance=3, y_tolerance=3, strip_whitespaces=True)` method.|
 |`.extract_tables(table_settings={})`|Returns the text extracted from *all* tables found on the page, represented as a list of lists of lists, with the structure `table -> row -> cell`.|
 |`.extract_table(table_settings={})`|Returns the text extracted from the *largest* table on the page, represented as a list of lists, with the structure `row -> cell`. (If multiple tables have the same size — as measured by the number of cells — this method returns the table closest to the top of the page.)|
 |`.debug_tablefinder(table_settings={})`|Returns an instance of the `TableFinder` class, with access to the `.edges`, `.intersections`, `.cells`, and `.tables` properties.|
@@ -314,6 +314,7 @@ By default, `extract_tables` uses the page's vertical and horizontal lines (or r
     "intersection_tolerance": 3,
     "intersection_x_tolerance": None,
     "intersection_y_tolerance": None,
+    "strip_whitespaces": True,
 }
 ```
 
@@ -331,6 +332,7 @@ By default, `extract_tables` uses the page's vertical and horizontal lines (or r
 |`"keep_blank_chars"`| When using the `text` strategy, consider `" "` chars to be *parts* of words and not word-separators.|
 |`"text_tolerance"`, `"text_x_tolerance"`, `"text_y_tolerance"`| When the `text` strategy searches for words, it will expect the individual letters in each word to be no more than `text_tolerance` pixels apart.|
 |`"intersection_tolerance"`, `"intersection_x_tolerance"`, `"intersection_y_tolerance"`| When combining edges into cells, orthogonal edges must be within `intersection_tolerance` pixels to be considered intersecting.|
+|`"strip_whitespaces"`| When extracting text of tables, strip whitespaces from each cell.|
 
 ### Table-extraction strategies
 
diff --git a/pdfplumber/page.py b/pdfplumber/page.py
index ac94610c..bf301048 100644
--- a/pdfplumber/page.py
+++ b/pdfplumber/page.py
@@ -224,6 +224,10 @@ def extract_tables(self, table_settings={}):
             for k in ["x_tolerance", "y_tolerance"]
             if "text_" + k in table_settings
         )
+        if "strip_whitespaces" in table_settings:
+            extract_kwargs.update(
+                {"strip_whitespaces": table_settings["strip_whitespaces"]}
+            )
 
         return [table.extract(**extract_kwargs) for table in tables]
 
diff --git a/pdfplumber/table.py b/pdfplumber/table.py
index 9101636f..c16e2aaf 100644
--- a/pdfplumber/table.py
+++ b/pdfplumber/table.py
@@ -358,6 +358,7 @@ def extract(
         self,
         x_tolerance=utils.DEFAULT_X_TOLERANCE,
         y_tolerance=utils.DEFAULT_Y_TOLERANCE,
+        strip_whitespaces=True
     ):
 
         chars = self.page.chars
@@ -386,7 +387,9 @@ def char_in_bbox(char, bbox):
                     if len(cell_chars):
                         cell_text = utils.extract_text(
                             cell_chars, x_tolerance=x_tolerance, y_tolerance=y_tolerance
-                        ).strip()
+                        )
+                        if strip_whitespaces:
+                            cell_text = cell_text.strip()
                     else:
                         cell_text = ""
                 arr.append(cell_text)
@@ -413,6 +416,7 @@ def char_in_bbox(char, bbox):
     "intersection_tolerance": 3,
     "intersection_x_tolerance": None,
     "intersection_y_tolerance": None,
+    "strip_whitespaces": True,
 }