Evidence Level
Wheatgrass research is still in its early stages, with several small but notable clinical trials contributing to the body of evidence. A pivotal study by Ben-Arye et al. (2002) demonstrated that 100ml daily wheatgrass juice significantly reduced rectal bleeding and disease activity in patients with active distal ulcerative colitis over one month. In hematology, Marwaha et al. (2004) reported that wheatgrass juice extended the interval between blood transfusions in beta-thalassemia patients, though the mechanism remains speculative. Bar-Sela et al. (2007) observed a reduction in chemotherapy-related myelotoxicity in breast cancer patients consuming wheatgrass juice, though this was an observational study.
More recent studies have expanded on these findings. Shakya et al. (2016) found that wheatgrass improved fasting glucose and lipid parameters in type 2 diabetes patients. Additionally, Mutha et al. (2018) conducted a randomized study of 69 thalassemic children, showing that wheatgrass supplementation over 18 months improved quality of life and reduced liver and spleen size compared to controls. Kumar and Iyer (2017) demonstrated that wheatgrass supplementation reduced total cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and Apolipoprotein B in hyperlipidemic women.
Despite these promising results, the majority of studies suffer from small sample sizes (typically under 50 participants) and variability in wheatgrass preparations (fresh juice vs. powder). A systematic review by Langhorst et al. (2015) highlighted the need for larger, well-designed randomized controlled trials to confirm these preliminary findings and establish definitive efficacy.