Nutritional relevance of wheat sprouts containing high levels of organic phosphates and antioxidant compounds.

Wheat sprouts contain a very high level of organic phosphates and a powerful cocktail of antioxidant molecules. Catalase and peroxidase activity appears very strong. Regarding low-molecular weight antioxidant molecules, TLC and other biochemical analysis show the presence of several classes of antioxidant compounds such as reducing glycosides, polyphenols, and -SH groups. Antioxidant activity has been measured by potassium ferricyanide reduction and by means of superoxide scavenging NBT. It has also been observed that the oral assumption of wheat sprout powder induces in old dogs a significant reduction of senile cataract. These results clearly confirm that the administration of natural antioxidant compounds can prevent or delay senile cataract. Moreover, it is evident that wheat sprout biologically active substances can be at least partially absorbed during the digestion process. Our research is now directed to the recovery of large amounts of wheat sprout biologically active substances that could also be used in the formulation of nutritional complements.