Bioactivity evaluations of leaf extract fractions from young barley grass and correlation with their phytochemical profiles

Abstract Background The pressed juice of Barley Grass (BG) has become very popular among people for various assumed benefits along with many testimonies of people who have been healed from various ailments such as anemia, cancer, GI problems by consuming BG. The aim of our research was to validate the claims of its medicinal values such as chemo-protective action, high anti-oxidants, RBC membrane stabilization activity, and toxicity level. Methods Extracts of hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol were quantitatively estimated for total phenolic contents (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC). The same extracts were assessed for their antioxidative potentials with the use of DPPH free radical scavenging assay followed by determination of HRBC membrane stabilization method, Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA) and GC-MS analysis. Results All the extracts showed high TPC and TFC along with the stronger correlation with the antioxidant activity of the extracts suggesting phenolics and flavonoids contents of the extract might be attributed to showing antioxidant activity. The methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of the plant also showed remarkable anti-inflammatory activity where methanolic extracts had the lowest EC50. During Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay, all extracts of BG were found to be bioactive and the degree of lethality was found to be concentration dependent. The GC-MS analysis of the methanolic extract of BG revealed 23 compounds which are reported to possess different biological activities. Conclusion The study reveals the strong antioxidant and RBC membrane stabilization activity of BG. The Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay found extracts to be bioactive suggesting extracts as a promising candidate for plant-derived anti-tumor compounds. Further, studies are needed to validate the data on cancer cell lines.