Oat Straw/Green Oats

Green oats (Avena Sativa) is an herb native to northern Europe, now grown worldwide as a cereal crop. The young green parts of the oat plant, also known as oat straws, are harvested in late summer. Oat straw contains triterpenoid saponins of the furostanol type (avenacosides) with fungicidal activity.1

Health Benefits

Oat straw (Green Oat) extracts have been used to restore the nervous system or to assist recovery from infectious disease or illness.1 Some clinical studies have reported that Green Oat Extract may aid in improving cognitive performance in healthy and elderly subjects.2,3 Green oat extract supplementation may also help cardiovascular health by improving vasodilator function (widening of the blood vessels).4

References

  1. Oat straw. American Botanical Council. Accesssed in July 2015. http://cms.herbalgram.org/healthyingredients/Oat.html
  2. Berry NM, Robinson MJ, Bryan J, Buckley JD, Murphy KJ, Howe PR. Acute effects of an Avena sativa herb extract on responses to the Stroop Color-Word test. J Altern Complement Med. 2011 Jul;17(7):635-7. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0450. PubMed PMID: 21711204.
  3. Dimpfel W, Storni C, Verbruggen M. Ingested oat herb extract (Avena sativa)changes EEG spectral frequencies in healthy subjects. J Altern Complement Med.2011 May;17(5):427-34. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0143. Epub 2011 May 12. PubMed PMID:21563962.
  4. Wong RH, Howe PR, Coates AM, Buckley JD, Berry NM. Chronic consumption of a wild green oat extract (Neuravena) improves brachial flow-mediated dilatation and cerebrovascular responsiveness in older adults. J Hypertens. 2013 Jan;31(1):192-200. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0b013e32835b04d4. PubMed PMID: 23221935.