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Wheatgrass

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For other uses, see Wheatgrass (disambiguation).
Indoor grown wheatgrass 8-10 days before harvest.

Wheatgrass is a food prepared from the cotyledons of the common wheat plant, Triticum aestivum. It is sold either as a juice or powder concentrate. Wheatgrass differs from wheat malt in that it is served freeze-dried or fresh, while wheat malt is convectively dried. Wheatgrass is also allowed to grow longer than malt is. It provides chlorophyll, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. Claims about the health benefits of wheatgrass range from providing supplemental nutrition to having unique curative properties, though few if any have been scientifically proven. Some consumers grow and juice wheatgrass in their homes. It is often available in juice bars, alone or in mixed fruit or vegetable drinks. It is also available in many health food stores as fresh produce, tablets, frozen juice and powder. Wheatgrass contains no wheat gluten.

History

The consumption of wheatgrass in the Western world began in the 1930s as a result of experiments conducted by Charles F. Schnabel in his attempts to popularize the plant.[1] By 1940, cans of Schnabel's powdered grass were on sale in major drug stores throughout the United States and Canada[2]

Cultivation

Extracting wheatgrass juice with a manual juicing machine.
Outdoor grown wheat grass grows slowly through the winter in a climate like that of Kansas in the United States.

Schnabel's research was conducted with wheatgrass grown outdoors in Kansas. His wheatgrass required 200 days of slow growth, through the winter and early spring, when it was harvested at the jointing stage. He claimed that at this stage the plant reached its peak nutritional value; after jointing, concentrations of chlorophyll, protein, and vitamins decline sharply.[3] Harvested grass was dehydrated and made into powders and tablets for human and animal consumption. Wheatgrass grown indoors in trays for ten days contains similar nutritional content. Wheatgrass grown outdoors is harvested, dehydrated at a low temperature and sold in tablet and powdered concentrates. Wheat grass juice powder (freshly squeezed with the water removed) is also available either spray-dried or freeze-dried.

Health claims

Table 1. Nutrient comparison of 1 oz (28.35 g) of wheatgrass juice, broccoli and spinach.
Nutrient Wheatgrass Juice Broccoli Spinach
Protein 860 mg 800 mg 810 mg
Beta-carotene 120 IU 177 IU 2658 IU
Vitamin E 880 mcg 220 mcg 580 mcg
Vitamin C 1 mg 25.3 mg 8 mg
Vitamin B12 0.30 mcg 0 mcg 0 mcg
Phosphorus 21 mg 19 mg 14 mg
Magnesium 8 mg 6 mg 22 mg
Calcium 7.2 mg 13 mg 28 mg
Iron 0.66 mg 0.21 mg 0.77 mg
Potassium 42 mg 90 mg 158 mg
Data on broccoli and spinach from USDA database.[4] Data on Wheatgrass juice from indoor grown wheatgrass.[2]

Proponents of wheatgrass make many claims for its health properties, ranging from promotion of general well-being to cancer prevention. These claims have not been substantiated in the scientific literature.[1] There is some limited evidence of beneficial pharmacological effects from chlorophyll, though this does not necessarily apply to dietary chlorophyll.[5][6]

There are a number of other small studies and pilots on the possible benefits of wheatgrass juice. According to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,[7] there may be a need for further study of wheatgrass therapy for ulcerative collitis; they cite a small pilot study which showed regular wheatgrass juice therapy significantly reduced rectal bleeding and overall disease activity.[8]

It has been claimed that wheatgrass helps blood flow, digestion and general detoxification of the body.[9] These claims have not been reliably substantiated, or are no different from similar vegetables. However, in one pilot study of children with thalassemia (a hereditary form of anemia which often requires blood transfusions), of the patients who were given 100 ml of wheatgrass juice daily, half showed reduced need for transfusions. No adverse effects were observed.[10] Another small study of transfusion-dependent patients suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome responded similarly to wheatgrass therapy; that is, the intervals between needed transfusions were increased. In addition, the chelation effect (removal of heavy metals from the blood) was studied for the same patients; the wheatgrass therapy showed a significant iron chelation effect.[11]

In another pilot, which was not placebo controlled, breast cancer patients who drank wheatgrass juice daily showed a decreased need for blood- and bone marrow-building medications during chemotherapy, without diminishing the effects of the therapy.[12]

The food has demonstrated in vitro cytotoxicity to HL-60 (Human promyelocytic leukemia cells).[13]

Nutritional content

The renown scientist Schnabel proved in the 1930s that "fifteen pounds of wheatgrass is equal in overall nutritional value to 350 pounds of ordinary garden vegetables." His research was corroborated by the equally renown plant scientist, Dr. George O. Kohler in the 1940s. This comparison was between dry weight of powder of various vegetables compared with wheatgrass harvested at a specific time and grown in the rich glacial soils of Northeastern Kansas. The table to the right is obviously bogus. It is compares wheat grass juice, which is not what Charles Schnabel researched and is a liquid form, with an unknown quantity of spinach and broccoli and a completely undisclosed form and undisclosed quanity. The reader is not told how much broccoli or how much spinach was involved. This chart gives a good example of how those who seek to spread misinformation make absurd comparisons using bogus data. When dry weight of spinach is compared with the dry weight of wheatgrass grown and harvested in accordance with Charles Schnabel's research (not tray grown juice), his research, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and other medical journals at the time, still stands up.

References

  1. ^ a b Murphy, Sean (2002-10-13). "Wheatgrass, healthy for the body and the bank account". ABC Landline. Retrieved 2006-10-06.
  2. ^ a b Meyerowitz, Steve (1999). "Nutrition in Grass". Wheatgrass Nature's Finest Medicine: The Complete Guide to Using Grass Foods & Juices to Revitalize Your Health (6th ed.). Book Publishing Company. p. 53. ISBN 1-878736-97-3. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |chapterurl= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Site Dedication and Construction Preliminaries, 1921-1923". Ahr-kc.com. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  4. ^ "USDA Nutrient Database". Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  5. ^ de Vogel, Johan (August 2005). "Natural Chlorophyll but Not Chlorophyllin Prevents Heme-Induced Cytotoxic and Hyperproliferative Effects in Rat Colon". J. Nutr. 135 (8). The American Society for Nutritional Sciences: 1995–2000. PMID 16046728. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Ferruzzia, Mario G.; Blakesleeb, Joshua (2007). "Digestion, absorption, and cancer preventative activity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives". Nutrition Research. 27 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2006.12.003. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Wheat grass | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center". Mskcc.org. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  8. ^ Ben-Arye, E; Goldin, E; Wengrower, D; Stamper, A; Kohn, R; Berry, E (2002). "Wheat grass juice in the treatment of active distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial". Scand J Gastroenterol. 37 (4): 444–9. doi:10.1080/003655202317316088. PMID 11989836. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ Fahey, Jed W.. (2005). "Chlorophyll, chlorophyllin and related tetrapyrroles are significant inducers of mammalian phase 2 cytoprotective genes". Carcinogenesis. 26 (7): 1247–55. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgi068. PMID 15774490. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Marawaha, RK; Bansal, D; Kaur, S; Trehan, A; Wheatgrass Juice Reduces Transfusion Requirement in Patients with Thalassemia Major: A Pilot Study. Indian Pediatric 2004 Jul;41(7):716-20
  11. ^ S. Mukhopadhyay; J. Basak; M. Kar; S. Mandal; A. Mukhopadhyay; Netaji Subhas; Chandra Bose; Cancer Research Institute, Kolkata, India; NRS Medical College, Kolkata, India; Central Institute for Research (Ayurveda), Kolkata, India. The Role of Iron Chelation Activity of Wheat Grass Juice in Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome. Journal of Clinical Oncology 27:15s, 2009 (suppl; abstr 7012) 2009 ASCO Annual Meeting. Presenter: Soma Mukhopadhyay, PhD.
  12. ^ Bar-Sela, Gil; Tsalic, Medy; Fried, Getta; Goldberg, Hadassah. Wheat Grass Juice May Improve Hematological Toxicity Related to Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Study. Nutrition and Cancer 2007, Vol. 58, No. 1, Pages 43-48.
  13. ^ Alitheen NB, Oon CL, Keong YS, Chuan TK, Li HK, Yong HW."Cytotoxic effects of commercial wheatgrass and fiber towards human acute promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL60)." Pak J Pharm Sci. 2011 Jul;24(3):243-50
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