Among people looking for natural health remedies, barley grass products have been gaining popularity because of its wide array of nutrients. Usually consumed as a juice powder stirred into water or a smoothie or as dried whole leaf powder, the barley leaves are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—like flavonoids (for example, saponarin, lutonarin, Bz-TMF, and a few others that we have highlighted in our blogs).
Usually, people think of barley grass products for benefits like detoxification, increasing energy levels, and helping with inflammation . But over the years, some research in lab mice suggests they also play a role in helping alleviate symptoms of depression that are caused by stress.
Depression is a very complex condition. Even though it affects millions of people worldwide it is still very difficult to treat and overcome. It’s often linked to stress, oxidative damage, and imbalances in brain chemicals like serotonin and other neurotrophic factors. (Though the hypothesis of serotonin and depression is wrong and was mostly made up to sell drugs.) And speaking of drugs, there are some big money-makers out there for treating depression, but one of the side effects of these drugs is depression and suicidal tendencies. So, lots of people like you are seeking out natural alternatives. Could barley grass help?
In this blog, we’ll look at three intriguing studies with lab mice that show some antidepressant-like effects when the mice are given barley grass powder. Now these are just animal experiments, so they’re not directly applicable to humans, but they do give you a little insight as to how barley grass juice powder could help. So let’s check out these studies.
Study 1: Barley and Wheat Grass Extracts Help Mice Handle Stress-Induced Depression
Barley grass powder products have become popular in Nepal. This prompted a study in 2022 that was published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. In this study the researchers explored the effects of aqueous extracts from barley and wheat grass on Swiss albino mice subjected to stress-induced depression. The researchers hypothesized that the antioxidants in the extract would have antidepressant properties.
- Methods: Mice were divided into groups and exposed to stress. They received either the extracts (400 mg/kg), a standard antidepressant (imipramine, 100 mg/kg), or a control. Behavioral tests included the forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), and elevated plus maze (EPM) to assess immobility (a proxy for despair) and anxiety.
- Key Findings: The extracts contained bioactive compounds like alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, and tannins, with high total phenolic and flavonoid content contributing to strong antioxidant activity. In behavioral tests, treated mice showed significantly reduced immobility time in FST and TST (p < 0.05 to p < 0.01) and spent more time in the open arms of the EPM (p < 0.01), indicating reduced anxiety and depression-like behaviors compared to the stressed control mice.
- Implications: This study suggests that barley grass and wheat grass extracts have antidepressant activity in them. This might be due to the antioxidant polyphenols and flavonoids that naturally occur in these plants.
Study 2: Barley Leaf Extract helps Mice Overcome Stress in the Forced Swimming Test
A Japanese research group at Chiba University in Japan published their initial findings in 2012. This study in Pharmacognosy Research focused specifically on young green barley leaf powder and its antidepressant potential in mice using the forced swimming test, which is a common model for screening antidepressants.
- Methods: Mice were orally given barley leaf extract (400 or 1000 mg/kg) or imipramine (100 mg/kg) (a tricyclic antidepressant) one hour before swimming sessions over three days. Immobility duration was measured, and brain mRNA levels of nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) were analyzed in the hippocampus and cortex.
- Key Findings: Both doses of barley leaf significantly reduced immobility time (indicating an antidepressant-like effect), similar to imipramine. Stress increased NGF mRNA in the hippocampus by 31%, but barley leaf moderated this in a dose-dependent way. BDNF and GR levels weren’t significantly altered, and serum corticosterone (a stress hormone) remained unchanged by the extract.
- Implications: The researchers propose that barley leaf’s effects might involve modulating NGF in the brain, potentially offering protection to nerve cells against stress without directly impacting the stress hormone axis. Like the previous study, this one also points to secondary metabolite molecules (such as polyphenols and flavonoids) as antioxidants in barley grass as major factors in altering the mice’s behavior.
Study 3: Protective Effects of Barley Leaf Extract on Stress and Brain Health
A follow-up study from the same research group in Japan was published in 2015 in Pharmacognosy Magazine. This research examined young green barley leaf’s ability to protect against restraint stress in female mice. They measured voluntary wheel running behavior (stressed mice don’t run as much) and measurement of mRNA levels of BDNF in the hippocampus. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is like growth factor for nerve cells. It is crucial for neuron survival and often reduced in depression.
- Methods: Mice underwent restraint stress for 3 hours daily over 5 days, with barley leaf (400 or 1000 mg/kg) or a positive control (clotiazepam, 10 mg/kg) given orally beforehand. Wheel-running activity (a measure of motivation and anti-stress adaptation) was tracked, along with serum corticosterone, and BDNF mRNA (including variants like exon IV).
- Key Findings: Stress decreased wheel-running and hippocampal BDNF mRNA (total, exon I, and exon IV) as expected. Barley leaf (especially 400 mg/kg) prevented the drop in activity and significantly boosted BDNF exon IV mRNA (p < 0.05). It didn’t affect corticosterone levels, suggesting that the effects were independent of the main stress hormone pathway (the fight or flight pathway talked about so much).
- Implications: By preserving BDNF, barley grass may help maintain hippocampal health under stress, potentially keeping depression-like states at bay. The study highlights its role in promoting resilience without stimulating the nervous system, as there was no hyperactivity or extra wheel-running behavior in non-stressed mice given the barley leaf extract,
What Does This Mean for Humans?
Taken together, these mice studies suggest three ways that Barley Grass extracts and juices could have antidepressant-like properties:
1. Reduction of oxidative stress through antioxidants.
2. Normalization of brain factors like nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF, which support nerve health.
3. Enhancement of behavior outcomes when exposed to stress without toxicity or overstimulation.
But we still need to be careful about extrapolating these results. These are just mice and the results in mice don’t really translate to humans very well. These results are preliminary. Depression in people is much more complicated than stress-induced depression in mice. You have to take many factors into account, including genetics, lifestyle factors, and the environment—things that aren’t really explored in these simple studies.
However, we do know that barley grass is generally safe and generally helpful to people, whether you’re in Nepal, Japan, or here in the USA. So if you’re dealing with depression, you may want to think about using something like BarleyMax just to complement whatever else you’re doing. It’s not a substitute for other things, but it could be helpful to incorporate it into your diet. It just might help you overcome stress and feel better.
