Wheat Grass Juice in the Treatment of Active Distal Ulcerative Colitis: A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial

Lin

Journal of Biological Chemistry

et al. 2013

Background: Wheatgrass is a supplemental food that enhances immunity and improves various diseases; however, there remains a lack of scientific evidence for this. Results: Wheatgrass-derived ␣-(1,4)-linked heptaglucan maltoheptaose systematically increases immune activation. Conclusion: Maltoheptaose is an immune stimulator that activates monocytes via Toll-like receptor-2 signaling. Significance: This is the first work to address the immunostimulatory component of wheatgrass with well defined molecular structures and mechanisms.

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Immunologically Active Oligosaccharides Isolated from Wheatgrass Modulate Monocytes via Toll-like Receptor-2 Signaling

Lin

Journal of Biological Chemistry

et al. 2013

“…Wheatgrass juice stimulates the immune system of normal and predsinolone-treated Swiss albino mice 5 . Furthermore, wheatgrass juice is an effective treatment in clinical trials of active distal ulcerative colitis 22 and prevents myelotoxicity from chemotherapy in breast cancer patients 23 . Additionally, extracts from wheat sprouts grown over a period of 3-5 days inhibit the mutagenic activity of benzo[a]pyrene in rats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antioxidant activity and DNA protective properties of rice grass juices

Khanthapok¹,

Muangprom²,

Sukrong³

2015

ScienceAsia

Juice squeezed from cereal grasses harvested at the jointing stage, i.e., wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum), exhibits high antioxidant activity. Rice (Oryza sativa) may also exhibit antioxidant activity. We therefore examined the antioxidant activity of juices squeezed from grasses harvested at the jointing stage for seven coloured and seven white Thai rice cultivars. The antioxidant activity was determined using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, ferric reducing antioxidant power, β-carotene bleaching, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assays. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total monomeric anthocyanin content (TMAC) were also determined. Coloured (purple) rice grass juices exhibited greater antioxidant potential than the grass juices from white rice and wheat. The coloured rice cultivar Kum Doisaket exhibited the highest antioxidant activity in all assays. Correlation analysis indicated that the TPC and TMAC could be responsible for the antioxidant activity. The DNA protective properties of the coloured rice cultivars Kum Doisaket and Kum Noi and wheat were also examined. Only the Kum Doisaket cultivar exhibited a dose-dependent DNA protective effect. The notable antioxidant efficacy for the Kum Doisaket cultivar may be influenced by the high level of anthocyanins present in its grass juice. This finding suggests the possibility of developing functional foods from coloured rice grass.

Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice

“…We chose to study this type of diet because it has been described as beneficial in some anecdotal reports (13) and because each of its components is reported to have health benefits. (18)(19)(20) …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors affecting adherence to a raw vegan diet

Link

Jacobson

2008

The purpose of this study was to evaluate adherence and identify predictors of adherence to a raw vegan diet (i.e., uncooked plant foods) following a stay at a raw vegan institute. In this cohort study of guests at a raw vegan institute, subjects completed written questionnaires upon arrival and 12 weeks later. Of 107 eligible guests, 84 participated. Mean age was 54 years, 23 were male, and 73 white. Fifty-one completed the 12-week follow-up. Eight (16%) reported their diet to be ≥80% raw vegan at baseline and 14 (28%) at follow-up. Based on a raw vegan dietary adherence score (range 0-42) created for this study, mean adherence (SD) increased from 15.1 (5.4) to 17.0 (5.8) over 12 weeks (p=0.03). Baseline predictors of adherence included: education (β=0.95), severity of disease (β=0.98), and self-efficacy to adhere (β=0.72). Future interventions that evaluate this diet should address self-efficacy, an important, potentially remediable predictor of adherence.