Amongst folks on the lookout for pure well being cures, barley grass merchandise have been gaining reputation due to its big selection of vitamins. Normally consumed as a juice powder stirred into water or a smoothie or as dried complete leaf powder, the barley leaves are wealthy in nutritional vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—like flavonoids (for instance, saponarin, lutonarin, Bz-TMF, and some others that we now have highlighted in our blogs).
Normally, folks consider barley grass merchandise for advantages like detoxing, growing vitality ranges, and serving to with irritation . However over time, some analysis in lab mice suggests in addition they play a job in serving to alleviate signs of melancholy which might be attributable to stress.
Melancholy is a really complicated situation. Although it impacts thousands and thousands of individuals worldwide it’s nonetheless very troublesome to deal with and overcome. It is usually linked to emphasize, oxidative injury, and imbalances in mind chemical substances like serotonin and different neurotrophic elements. (Although the speculation of serotonin and melancholy is incorrect and was largely made as much as promote medication.) And talking of medicine, there are some massive money-makers on the market for treating melancholy, however one of many negative effects of those medication is melancholy and suicidal tendencies. So, a lot of folks like you’re searching for out pure options. Might barley grass assist?
On this weblog, we’ll have a look at three intriguing research with lab mice that present some antidepressant-like results when the mice are given barley grass powder. Now these are simply animal experiments, so they don’t seem to be straight relevant to people, however they do provide you with a bit perception as to how barley grass juice powder might assist. So let’s try these research.
Examine 1: Barley and Wheat Grass Extracts Assist Mice Deal with Stress-Induced Melancholy
Barley grass powder merchandise have develop into widespread in Nepal. This prompted a examine in 2022 that was printed within the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Drugs. On this examine the researchers explored the results of aqueous extracts from barley and wheat grass on Swiss albino mice subjected to stress-induced melancholy. The researchers hypothesized that the antioxidants within the extract would have antidepressant properties.
- Strategies: Mice have been divided into teams and uncovered to emphasize. They acquired both the extracts (400 mg/kg), an ordinary antidepressant (imipramine, 100 mg/kg), or a management. Behavioral checks included the pressured swim check (FST), tail suspension check (TST), and elevated plus maze (EPM) to evaluate immobility (a proxy for despair) and nervousness.
- Key Findings: The extracts contained bioactive compounds like alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, and tannins, with excessive complete phenolic and flavonoid content material contributing to sturdy antioxidant exercise. In behavioral checks, handled mice confirmed considerably diminished immobility time in FST and TST (p < 0.05 to p < 0.01) and spent extra time within the open arms of the EPM (p < 0.01), indicating diminished nervousness and depression-like behaviors in comparison with the harassed management mice.
- Implications: This examine means that barley grass and wheat grass extracts have antidepressant exercise in them. This could be because of the antioxidant polyphenols and flavonoids that naturally happen in these vegetation.
Examine 2: Barley Leaf Extract helps Mice Overcome Stress within the Compelled Swimming Take a look at
A Japanese analysis group at Chiba College in Japan printed their preliminary findings in 2012. This examine in Pharmacognosy Analysis targeted particularly on younger inexperienced barley leaf powder and its antidepressant potential in mice utilizing the pressured swimming check, which is a standard mannequin for screening antidepressants.
- Strategies: Mice have been orally given barley leaf extract (400 or 1000 mg/kg) or imipramine (100 mg/kg) (a tricyclic antidepressant) one hour earlier than swimming classes over three days. Immobility length was measured, and mind mRNA ranges of nerve progress issue (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic issue (BDNF), and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) have been analyzed within the hippocampus and cortex.
- Key Findings: Each doses of barley leaf considerably diminished immobility time (indicating an antidepressant-like impact), just like imipramine. Stress elevated NGF mRNA within the hippocampus by 31%, however barley leaf moderated this in a dose-dependent manner. BDNF and GR ranges weren’t considerably altered, and serum corticosterone (a stress hormone) remained unchanged by the extract.
- Implications: The researchers suggest that barley leaf’s results would possibly contain modulating NGF within the mind, doubtlessly providing safety to nerve cells in opposition to stress with out straight impacting the stress hormone axis. Just like the earlier examine, this one additionally factors to secondary metabolite molecules (comparable to polyphenols and flavonoids) as antioxidants in barley grass as main elements in altering the mice’s conduct.
Examine 3: Protecting Results of Barley Leaf Extract on Stress and Mind Well being
A follow-up examine from the identical analysis group in Japan was printed in 2015 in Pharmacognosy Journal. This analysis examined younger inexperienced barley leaf’s skill to guard in opposition to restraint stress in feminine mice. They measured voluntary wheel working conduct (harassed mice do not run as a lot) and measurement of mRNA ranges of BDNF within the hippocampus. Mind-derived neurotrophic issue (BDNF) is like progress issue for nerve cells. It’s essential for neuron survival and sometimes diminished in melancholy.
- Strategies: Mice underwent restraint stress for 3 hours each day over 5 days, with barley leaf (400 or 1000 mg/kg) or a constructive management (clotiazepam, 10 mg/kg) given orally beforehand. Wheel-running exercise (a measure of motivation and anti-stress adaptation) was tracked, together with serum corticosterone, and BDNF mRNA (together with variants like exon IV).
- Key Findings: Stress decreased wheel-running and hippocampal BDNF mRNA (complete, exon I, and exon IV) as anticipated. Barley leaf (particularly 400 mg/kg) prevented the drop in exercise and considerably boosted BDNF exon IV mRNA (p < 0.05). It did not have an effect on corticosterone ranges, suggesting that the results have been impartial of the principle stress hormone pathway (the struggle or flight pathway talked about a lot).
- Implications: By preserving BDNF, barley grass could assist keep hippocampal well being beneath stress, doubtlessly conserving depression-like states at bay. The examine highlights its function in selling resilience with out stimulating the nervous system, as there was no hyperactivity or further wheel-running conduct in non-stressed mice given the barley leaf extract,
What Does This Imply for People?
Taken collectively, these mice research recommend three ways in which Barley Grass extracts and juices might have antidepressant-like properties:
1. Discount of oxidative stress by means of antioxidants.
2. Normalization of mind elements like nerve progress issue (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic issue, BDNF, which help nerve well being.
3. Enhancement of conduct outcomes when uncovered to emphasize with out toxicity or overstimulation.
However we nonetheless have to be cautious about extrapolating these outcomes. These are simply mice and the leads to mice do not actually translate to people very effectively. These outcomes are preliminary. Melancholy in folks is rather more difficult than stress-induced melancholy in mice. You need to take many elements under consideration, together with genetics, life-style elements, and the setting—issues that are not actually explored in these easy research.
Nonetheless, we do know that barley grass is usually protected and customarily useful to folks, whether or not you are in Nepal, Japan, or right here within the USA. So for those who’re coping with melancholy, chances are you’ll wish to consider using one thing like BarleyMax simply to enrich no matter else you are doing. It is not an alternative to different issues, but it surely may very well be useful to include it into your weight loss program. It simply would possibly assist you to overcome stress and really feel higher.