Superfood Wheatgrass Shows Efficacy for Chronic Gastritis... Expectations Rise for New Natural Drug Development

A study has found that a substance extracted from wheatgrass, a type of superfood, is effective in improving chronic gastritis. In particular, the mechanism by which the extract improves chronic gastritis has been identified, and a "standardization technology" system has been established to consistently maintain the efficacy of the natural ingredient. As a result, there is growing anticipation for its potential use in the development of health functional foods and new drugs for treating intractable visceral pain.

On March 17, the University of Science and Technology (UST) announced that, in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator (GBSA), a joint study on wheatgrass extract confirmed that the schaftoside component in wheatgrass activates the mucus (mucin) secretion switch (TRPM5-NCX) that protects the stomach by stimulating the intracellular signaling pathways in gastric cells.

This mechanism enables the stomach lining to form a thick protective barrier before it is damaged by harsh external conditions.

(From the left) Wooong Choo, PhD candidate at UST, Kyungmin Kim, postdoctoral researcher at KIST, research director Professor Kyusang Hong, and Chunhwan Choi, senior researcher at Gyeonggido Research Institute (corresponding author). University of Science and Technology (UST)

The joint research team also confirmed that, in addition to schaftoside, the concentrated fraction of wheatgrass contains a large amount of "isoorientin." Isoorientin exhibits anti-inflammatory properties by blocking cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), an enzyme that induces inflammation in the body.

As a result, the research team explained that wheatgrass extract can produce a "multi-synergy effect" by simultaneously activating schaftoside, which forms the protective barrier, and isoorientin, which alleviates inflammation.

In particular, the team found that simply consuming regular wheatgrass powder is insufficient to reach the effective concentration needed to activate the gastric mucosal protection switch. They demonstrated that a specially extracted form, created using their proprietary concentration process to maximize only the key components, delivers a powerful protective effect for the gastric mucosa.

These effects were also clearly observed in animal experiments. When wheatgrass extract was administered to mice with severe gastritis induced by alcohol and gastric acid, noticeable reductions in gastric mucosal damage and thickening of the gastric mucus layer were observed.

Based on these findings, the joint research team established a "mechanism-linked quality control (QC) frame" to ensure that wheatgrass extract maintains consistent efficacy when commercialized.

While existing natural products have shown significant functional differences depending on the origin of the raw material or extraction method, the framework developed by the research team designates schaftoside, which is directly linked to the protective barrier mechanism, as the main functional marker, and isoorientin, with its potent anti-inflammatory activity, as a secondary marker. This system guarantees consistent efficacy and provides a standard for mass-producing functional ingredients.

Summary of Research Achievements. University of Science and Technology Graduate School

Traditional treatments for chronic gastrointestinal diseases such as gastritis have focused on suppressing gastric acid secretion or temporarily reducing pain, but these approaches are limited by side effects such as indigestion and high recurrence rates during long-term use. The development of a new paradigm that goes beyond simply "suppressing" pain to "restoring" the stomach's own defense capabilities and addressing the root causes of chronic disease is a significant achievement of this study.

Based on these findings, the joint research team has completed domestic and US patent applications for "the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcers through the enhancement of gastric mucus by wheatgrass extract and schaftoside compounds." Moving forward, they plan to pursue technology transfer and commercialization, expanding into the development of natural medicines.

This study was led by Professor Kyusang Hong (KIST Brain Convergence Research Division) of the UST-KIST School of Biomedical Science and Chunhwan Choi, senior researcher at GBSA, as co-corresponding authors. Woong Choo, PhD candidate at UST, and Kyungmin Kim, postdoctoral researcher at KIST, participated as co-first authors. The research results (paper) were published in the March issue of "Food Chemistry," which ranks in the top 3.1% of journals in the field of nutrition and dietetics.

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