Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
(eISSN: 2229-4473)
Nutritional composition, in vitro prebiotic potential, and antimicrobial efficacy of Wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum)
*Article not assigned to an issue yet
Tripathi Renu, Mishra Neetu, Pandey Dhananjay, Shah Kamal, Chauhan Nagendra Singh
Research Articles | Published: 08 April, 2026
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Keywords: Nutritional analysis, Prebiotic, Antimicrobial, HPLC, Bioactives, Wheatgrass
Abstract
The current research prospect deals with the in-vitro nutritional analysis, prebiotic potency, antimicrobial activity and HPLC of the wheatgrass extract.The antimicrobial activity was assessed by agar well diffusion method. The proximate analysis revealed the presence of carbohydrates, protein, fiber, fat moisture and ash along with calcium, phosphorous and iron in the wheatgrass powder. Furthermore, the prebiotic potential of wheatgrass fiber was assessed against the probiotic strains viz., Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Lactobacillus plantarum procured from MTCC, Chandigarh, India. The results revealed that, maximum growth of L. acidophilus was recorded in MRS broth containing 0.5% (w/v) wheatgrass fiber, whereas the maximum growth of L. rhamnosus was observed in MRS broth containing 0.25% (w/v) wheatgrass fiber.Successively, the wheatgrass ethanolic extract at different concentrations was evaluated for their antibacterial activity for Gram-positive bacteria viz., Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative bacteria as Salmonella typhi and fungi as Aspergillus brasiliensis. The findings showed that, S. pneumoniae exhibited maximum zone of inhibition (21.31 ± 0.74 mm) against 20 µg/ml and S. aureus showed the highest zone of inhibition (20.33 ± 0.42 mm) at 20 µg/mlconcentration of wheatgrass ethanolic extract. Finally, the HPLC of the extract revealed the presence of abscisic acid, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyllin, apigenin, and rutin conferring prebiotic potency and antimicrobial activity to wheatgrass. However, further efforts to explore several pharmacological potentialities of wheatgrass in-vivo will be the future direction of this research.
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Author Information
Department of Home Science, Govt. Kamladevi Rathi Mahila P.G. Mahavidyalaya, Rajnandgaon, India