AEGiS-GMHC: Treatment Briefs: Barley Green Company Refuses to Fund Trial

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Treatment Briefs: Barley Green Company Refuses to Fund Trial

Gay Men's Health Crisis "Treatment Issues"; Vol. 8, No. 7 - August 1994
David Gold

Barley green extracts and other "green juices" are used by many HIV-positive individuals as nutritional supplements. A few reports from Japan suggest that barley green extract may have some beneficial impact on the immune system. [See Treatment Issues, January 1994.] These reports led researchers Mike Barr and Gabriel Torres, M.D., of St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City to propose a trial of barley green in HIV-infected individuals. The twelve-week study would examine virological and immunological markers and would cost approximately $30,000.

The two leading barley green products "Barley Green" and "Green Magma" are manufactured by Japan Pharmaceutical Development, Ltd., a large, worldwide company which, by its own claim, sells more barley green worldwide than all other grass juice powders combined. The company's own literature boasts of the fact that ten percent of all sales go to research on barley green extract.

Earlier this year, Barr, Torres and colleagues met with JPD president Hideaki Hagiwara at the company's Trump Tower apartment. During the meeting, Hagiwara voiced strong interest in helping fund a study. However, Barr recently received a correspondence from the company stating that they will be unable to fund such a trial. The company's refusal to fund this small and inexpensive trial is extremely disappointing. Readers may want to call Pakahiko Amano, executive vice-president of the company's U.S. subsidiary, Green Foods Corp. of Oxnard, CA, at 805/983-1130 to encourage the company to help pay for this useful study.

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