What Is the Nutritional Fact of Wheat Grass?

Wheat belongs to the Poaceae family and is primarily used as feed, staple food (green barley), and raw material for beer production. Among the world's cereal crops, wheat ranks fourth in terms of total planting area and production, following rice and corn. China's wheat production bases are mainly located in the Huai River region and areas north of the Huai River. In 2012, China's wheat production was 1.8 million tons [1,2].

Wheat sprouts are rich in protein, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and other nutrients. They also have the characteristics of low carbohydrate content, low fat content, high vitamin content, high dietary fiber content, and high protein content [2]. Zhang Qiuying [4] found that consuming a small amount of wheat sprout powder daily can help improve overall health, enhance sleep quality, strengthen the heart and body, promote wound healing, detoxify the body, and delay aging. Currently, wheat sprout products in China are typically processed by cutting fresh wheat sprout stems and leaves, washing, blanching, drying, and low-temperature airflow grinding to preserve as many active nutrients as possible [5].

1 Nutritional Components of Wheat Sprout Powder

1. 1 Proteins and Enzymes

Duan Qionghui et al. [6] found that wheat sprouts are a high-protein food, containing 28.2% protein.After low-temperature airflow milling, the cell walls of wheat sprouts are broken down, releasing proteins and making them easier to digest and absorb. Wheat sprouts are rich in enzymes such as protease, amylase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase, which help the human body eliminate free radicals, promote nutrient digestion and absorption, and break down toxins in the body [7,8], thereby benefiting health.

1.2 Chlorophyll

The chlorophyll content in wheat sprouts ranges from 0.26 to 0.43 μg/100g [9]. Chlorophyll has a chemical structure similar to human hemoglobin and is often referred to as"green blood."Once chlorophyll enters the human body, iron ions replace magnesium ions in its molecules, directly converting it into hemoglobin.Wheat sprouts retain a significant amount of chlorophyll through timely blanching. Medical research has found that chlorophyll has therapeutic effects on anemia, blood pressure regulation, anti-inflammatory pain relief, and the prevention and treatment of anemia and atherosclerosis [10].

1.3 Minerals

Wheat sprouts are rich in essential trace elements for the human body, with the highest content being K, Ca, and Mg, followed by Fe, Se, and Zn, and the lowest being Cu and Mn [11]. Spinach has the highest alkalinity among fruits and vegetables at 39.6, while wheat sprout powder has an alkalinity as high as 66.4, earning it the title of"king of alkaline foods.”When minerals are in balance within the body, they are beneficial for maintaining human health [12].

1.4 Vitamins

According to analysis, wheat sprouts are a rich natural source of vitamin C, vitamin B, vitamin E, and beta-carotene.Duan Qionghui et al. found that the vitamin C and vitamin E content in barley grass powder can reach 14.9 and 6.94 mg/100g, respectively, while the vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B6 content are 52, 244, and 175 μg/100g, respectively [6].

1.5 Other Nutrients

Barley grass powder contains a large amount of flavonoids and related compounds with strong antioxidant activity, such as 2'-O-Glyco-sylisovi-texin (2-O-GIV), which inhibits skin lipid oxidation at a rate 500 times higher than vitamin E500 times that of vitamin E, and it can prevent cancer and other diseases by scavenging active oxygen free radicals [13,14].

2 Health benefits of wheat grass powder

2.1 Lowering blood lipids

Wheat green extract is a green powder extracted from young wheat leaves using complete cell wall disruption technology and vacuum drying at room temperature, maximizing the retention of nutrients in young wheat sprouts. It contains abundant vitamins, chlorophyll, enzymes, fiber, and minerals, and has significant therapeutic effects on regulating blood sugar, preventing ulcers, and enhancing physical strength and endurance [15,16].Jin Xianyu et al. [17] administered wheat grass extract at doses of 0.33, 1.00, and 3.00 g/(kg·BW) via oral gavage to male Wistar rats for 30 days.Plasma triglycerides (TG), plasma cholesterol (TC), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured at the beginning and end of the experiment to observe the effects of different doses of wheat germ extract on lipid levels in rats fed a high-fat diet.After 30 days of continuous oral administration of Maigruisu, the serum TG levels in the 3.00 g/(kg·BW·d) dose group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05),Serum HDL-C levels in all dose groups showed no significant changes (P > 0.05).

Mao Sunzhong et al. [18] studied the effects of wheat grass extract on lipid levels and plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and nitric oxide (NO) in rats with diet-induced hyperlipidemia. The results indicated that wheat germ extract could reduce the levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC), increase the levels of HDL-C, significantly elevate plasma NO levels and SOD activity, while MDA and ET-1 levels were significantly reduced. This may be due to the antioxidant effect of wheat germ extract on LDL oxidation, suggesting that wheat germ extract has antioxidant, lipid-lowering, and vasodilatory effects.Chen Guitang et al. [19] reported that wheat germ extract significantly increased HDL-C and significantly reduced serum triglycerides (TG) and LDL-C, demonstrating anti-atherosclerotic effects.

2.2 Hypoglycemic effects

 Diabetes has become a global public health issue. Wang Xiaojie et al. [20] established a streptozotocin-induced diabetic model and found that wheat sprouts exhibited significant hypoglycemic effects on this model. Additionally, studies revealed that minerals and chlorophyll in wheat sprouts also exhibit good therapeutic effects on diabetes [20, 21]. Furthermore,wheat sprout powder contains abundant fiber, and the intake of whole grains or grain fiber can lower blood glucose levels and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes [22,23]. It can be seen that wheat sprouts have the function of regulating and balancing blood glucose levels. When blood glucose is controlled to the normal range through drug therapy, it is recommended to consume an appropriate amount of wheat sprout powder as an adjunctive therapy to maintain therapeutic effects [20].

2.3 Antitumor

Research has found that chlorophyll and its derivatives can inhibit tumor cell growth and possess anti-mutagenic activity [24]. Bez et al. [25] studied the antitumor effects of chlorophyllin (CHL), a hydrolyzed product of chlorophyll, by treating V79 cell lines with methyl methysulfate (MMS) and then adding different concentrations of CHL before, during, or after treatment, and observing the formation of micronuclei.

The results showed that adding different concentrations of CHL before, during, or after treatment could alleviate the genotoxic effects of MMS, and no genotoxic effects of CHL were observed. or after treatment with different concentrations of CHL and observed micronucleus formation. The results showed that adding different concentrations of CHL before, during, or after treatment with MMS significantly reduced the genotoxic effects of MMS, and no genotoxic effects of CHL were observed. Hirose et al. [26] treated a mouse mammary tumor model with CHL and found that the tumor incidence rate was significantly reduced.

Carter et al. [27] found that CHL can alter the expression of E-cadherin and β-catenin in human colon cancer cell line HCT-116, and these cellular differentiation markers can restrict tumor cell invasion and metastasis.Animal experiments have shown that chlorophyll has inhibitory effects on tumors induced by chemical carcinogens in the lungs, liver, intestines, skin, and breasts, making it a broad-spectrum tumor inhibitor.Jiao Guangyu et al. found that chlorophyll can alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy for malignant tumors and can serve as an adjuvant for chemotherapy [28].

Additionally, chlorophyll and its derivatives with porphyrin ring structures easily bind to carcinogens with polycyclic structures, rendering them inactive and thereby reducing their carcinogenic effects [29].Chlorophyll and CHL can also bind to proteins, DNA, and mRNA, regulating the expression of proteins related to cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis [27-30], altering enzyme activity and expression within cells [31], and reducing the cell membrane's ability to transport certain carcinogenic substances [32].Additionally, the antitumor activity of wheat sprout powder is also associated with its antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties [33,34].

2.4 Prevention of constipation

During metabolism, the body continuously produces metabolic waste. If this waste is not promptly removed from the body, it accumulates and causes harm to the body. Due to the rich dietary fiber content in wheat germ powder, it helps increase stool volume, accelerate intestinal peristalsis, and promote stool excretion.

Chen Guitang et al. also found that wheat germ extract accelerates the rate of fecal excretion, indicating that wheat germ powder has a preventive effect against constipation [19].

2.5 Other Functions

Wheat germ powder is rich in vitamin E and SOD enzymes, exhibiting good antioxidant and anti-aging functions; Xie Huiping et al. [35] found that wheat germ extract can alleviate physical fatigue in mice,demonstrating anti-fatigue effects; Chen Guitang et al. [36] found that after rats were fed a diet containing wheat germ extract, the levels of uric acid and creatinine in their bodies significantly decreased [19], consistent with previous research findings, suggesting that wheat germ extract has a renoprotective effect.

3 Current Status and Prospects of Research at Home and Abroad

In the 1960s, Japanese medical doctor Ogihara Yoshihide suffered from organic mercury poisoning. He extracted juice from young wheat sprouts and consumed it daily, recovering his health in less than six months [5]. Since then, the nutritional and health benefits of wheat sprout powder have garnered significant attention, leading to extensive research on its properties and the development of various products, such as the widely popular"green juice"[37] in Japan.Today, wheat leaf products have been certified as health foods by the Japanese Health Association, and the United States has officially approved chlorophyll as a food supplement. Research on wheat sprout products in China began relatively late. In 1994, Dr. Xu Xinyue formally introduced the concept of chlorophyll from the United States to China. In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved chlorophyll from China. Currently, many Chinese companies have begun independently developing wheat sprout powder products, such as"Wheat Sprout,”"Wheat Sprout Extract Powder,"and"Wheat Green Tablets"produced by a certain biotechnology company in Zhejiang Province, and"Wheat Sprout Powder"produced by a certain biotechnology company in Hangzhou. With the improvement of people's living standards and health awareness, wheat sprout products have a very broad market prospect.

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