Immune system components altered by a food supplement.
Wagner, E., Mocharia, R. Ann. Meeting. Am. Assoc. Advancement Science. 1991.
Double blind study involving 32 first and second year medical students of whom 16 received 6 grams of barley grass leaf extract (Green Magma) for 71 days. The other 16 received placebos. All participants had blood investigations before and after the study where relevant immune system parameters were measured.
The students who received barley grass demonstrated a significant increase in leukocytes and a decrease in lymphocytes. Overall, their immune status was stronger than the placebo group.
The authors concluded that “one could hypothesise that the statistically significant increases in the percent of neutrophils and circulating complement levels, both components of nonspecific immune defense in the nutritionally supplemented group, could reflect a more efficient first line of defense.”