Overview of Wheatgrass
Scientific Name: Triticum aestivum
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
The seedlings of wheat are generally used to prepare a juice, or powdered wheatgrass is mixed with drinks or consumed as a tablet.
Strong:
insufficient informationGood:
insufficient informationPromising:
insufficient informationConflicting (Unclear):
insufficient informationLimited Evidence:
- Chemotherapy Induced Bone Marrow Suppression (Myelotoxicity) of Breast Cancer Patients [1]
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) [2]
- Reduces the number of Blood Transfusions of Thalassemia Patients, as wheatgrass juice or in tablet form [3-5]
No Evidence:
insufficient informationNo Clinical Research:
All other conditions.- Side effects have not been studied.
- Use caution or contact a licensed healthcare practitioner, since there is not enough research on the use of supplements containing wheatgrass.
There is not enough research on the use of supplements containing wheatgrass during pregnancy and breast-feeding, so consult a licensed healthcare practitioner before use or avoid use.
Major:
insufficient informationModerate:
insufficient informationPotential:
insufficient informationWheatgrass is not a "drug", so the best doses have not been thoroughly established. Make sure to follow the specific product instructions and take as directed on the label, or consult a licensed healthcare practitioner before use.
1. Bar-Sela G, Tsalic M, Fried G, Goldberg H. Wheat grass juice may improve hematological toxicity related to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients: a pilot study. Nutr Cancer. 2007;58(1):43-8. 2. Ben-Arye E, Goldin E, Wengrower D, Stamper A, Kohn R, Berry E. Wheat grass juice in the treatment of active distal ulcerative colitis: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2002 Apr;37(4):444-9. 3. Choudhary DR, Naithani R, Panigrahi I, Kumar R, Mahapatra M, Pati HP, Saxena R, Choudhry VP. Effect of wheat grass therapy on transfusion requirement in beta-thalassemia major. Indian J Pediatr. 2009 Apr;76(4):375-6. 4. Marawaha RK, Bansal D, Kaur S, Trehan A. Wheat grass juice reduces transfusion requirement in patients with thalassemia major: a pilot study. Indian Pediatr. 2004 Jul;41(7):716-20. 5. Singh K, Pannu MS, Singh P, Singh J. Effect of wheat grass tablets on the frequency of blood transfusions in Thalassemia Major. Indian J Pediatr. 2010 Jan;77(1):90-1. 6. Afendi FM, Okada T, Yamazaki M, Hirai-Morita A, Nakamura Y, Nakamura K, Ikeda S, Takahashi H, Altaf-Ul-Amin M, Darusman LK, Saito K, Kanaya S. KNApSAcK family databases: integrated metabolite-plant species databases for multifaceted plant research. Plant Cell Physiol. 2012 Feb;53(2):e1.