Wheatgrass

Wheat grass · Triticum aestivum grass

Snapshot

Indications	Contraindications
Active distal ulcerative colitis¹ Thalassemia transfusion burden² Chemotherapy myelotoxicity³ Immune function⁴	Wheat allergy⁵

Wheatgrass is the young leaf of Triticum aestivum, sprouted from wheat seed and taken as fresh juice, powder, or tablets⁶. Its vitamins, chlorophyll, and flavonoid content act through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects⁶. People take it as an adjunct in active distal ulcerative colitis, for transfusion-dependent thalassemia, and for blood toxicity during breast cancer chemotherapy. It is also used for immune function⁴.

Human research is limited to about nine small trials, mostly in ulcerative colitis, thalassemia, and chemotherapy-related blood toxicity. In ulcerative colitis, a placebo-controlled trial and a systematic review of herbal therapy found benefit over placebo^{1, 7}. In ovarian cancer cell lines, a 2017 laboratory study found wheatgrass reduced carboplatin cytotoxicity in cisplatin-sensitive cells; no human trial has tested this. Products listing wheatgrass number 579 in the Dietary Supplement Label Database, mostly powders with some tablets; see Form comparison.

The consequential caution is allergy: wheatgrass is a wheat product, and labels on products sold in the United States carry that warning⁵. Raw juice is grown for days before harvest, so Memorial Sloan Kettering notes microbial contamination is possible⁶. Nausea led six patients to stop juice in the chemotherapy pilot³.

Last updated October 16, 2026. Read how we make monographs.

In the full monograph

24 sources, 16 studies

When to useThe situations practitioners use it for, each with the reason and the study behind it.
SafetyWho should avoid it, who needs extra care, and the side effects reported in studies.
Protocol notesThe doses used in studies, how and when they were taken, and how the forms on the market compare.
How it worksWhat it is and how it works in the body, in plain terms.
Published studiesThe studies behind each use, popular claims checked against them, and trials still under way.
Word of mouthWhat patients and practitioners report online, kept separate from the clinical evidence.
Clinical perspectiveA closing read of where the evidence is solid, where it is thin, and what has not been studied.

Snapshot

In the full monograph

Sources