Broccoli: its anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and healing values
Elizabeth H Jeffery, Professor Emerita University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
30 30-35% of cancers may be related to diet
Anand et al, Pharm. Res. 25: 2097, 2008
Brassica vegetables decrease our relative risk for cancers more effectively than do vegetables in general Risk Decrease (%) All vegetables Brassica
25% (p=0.43) 49% (p=0.004)
Colon (low: high intake)
All vegetables Brassica
19% (p=0.15) 46% (p=0.01)
Prostate (<1:>3 servings/wk)
Voorrips et al, 2000; Cohen et al, 2000
Brassica veggies prevent cancer more effectively in people at high risk: Brassica/ non-smokers
0.70 (ns)
Brassica /smokers
0.31 (p<0.05)
Lung (Zhao et al, 2001)
Cardiovascular disease Prevention with Broccoli
Risk is lower for myocardial infarct (MI) in those eating ~5 servings of broccoli a week Servings/ day Risk for MI (OR) P=0.001
Low Intake Mid Intake High Intake 0.08 0.43 0.86 1.00 0.88 0.63
Cornelis et al, 2007
Cardiovascular disease prevention with dietary broccoli Low Intake Mid Intake High Intake Servings/ day 0.08 0.43 0.86 Non-smokers Risk for MI P=0.007 Smokers Risk for MI P=0.001
1.00
0.95
0.76
100
0.79
0.48
Cornelis et al, 2007
Why are Brassica vegetables so protective ?
Brussels
Spinach
0
Adapted from Cao et al. 1996 J Agric. Food Chem. 44, 3426-31
String Bean
Yellow squash
Celery
Cucumber
Iceberg
Leaf Lettuce
Carrot
Cabbage
Potato
Cauliflower
Corn
Onion
Red bell
Beets
Broccoli
Alfalfa sprouts
Green Tea 814 Black Tea 927
Kale
Garlic
200
Vegetable Antioxidant Capacities
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
Vitamins A, C, E, folate
Fiber
Glucosinolates*
Flavonoids
Minerals:Ca, Mn, Mg, Se Selenium
Nutrients * Essentially Unique to the Brassica
Phytonutrients (Bioactives)
Glucosinolate profile varies across Brassica vegetables; glucoraphanin is the predominant glucosinolate in broccoli 12 progoitrin glucoraphanin glucobrassicin sinigrin
10 8 6 4 2
lif l C au
al e K
ow er
e ba g C ab
us se ls Br
Br
oc co
li
0 O S
S
C6H11O5
N
O
C SO3-
O S
S
C6H11O5
C N O
Glucoraphanin
SO3-
Myrosinase
Glucose
O S N
Sulforaphane
C S
Anticarcinogen
Inflammation may be a common factor sulforaphane
Cardio-vascular Disease
sulforaphane
Cancer
sulforaphane
sulforaphane
Cardio-vascular Disease
sulforaphane
sulforaphane
Cancer
Noah et al, 2014
There are some differences between humans and mice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but many similarities, especially at physiological levels
Control diet
High fat and sugar diet
High fat and sugar + broccoli
Dietary broccoli inhibits accumulation of fat in the livers of mice fed a Western-style high fat and high sugar diet. (values are score of fatty liver disease) Data are meanÂąSD . t-test: *p<0.05, ***p<0.001 v.s. C; #p<0.05 v.s. W
sulforaphane
Cardio-vascular Disease
sulforaphane
sulforaphane
Cancer
Fresh: Closed circles and bars Cooked: Open circles and bars
Saha et al, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 56: 1906-1916, 2012
Plasma sulforaphane
Urinary sulforaphane
Glucosinolate content varies with genotype and environment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; weather and agricultural practices such as nitrogen and sulfur levels and the spraying crops with elicitors, like Methyl Jasmonate
The concentration of bioactives varies across broccoli cultivars; n = 51 varieties of broccoli Component
Mean value a
Glucoraphanin 7.1
Range 0.8–21.7
a
Aliphatic 10.5 glucosinolates a Indolyl 1.9 glucosinolates
3.0–31.4* 0.4–6.2
a: μmol/g dry wt. *: sulforaphane is the major aliphatic glucosinolate product Kushad et al, 1999
O S
S
C6H11O5
C N O
Glucoraphanin
SO3-
Myrosinase
Glucose
O S N
Sulforaphane
C S
Anticarcinogen
Wang et al, 2012
• In the USA, Demand tripled between 1980 and today • Frozen broccoli accounts for over 60% of that : reduction in cost, increased shelf life, less waste • Blanched before freezing, kills myrosinase (Dosz and Jeffery, 2014) ERS, Yearbook 2011; Summary, NASS 2011
All Vegetables in the plant order Capparales (including brassicaceae family) provide myrosinase
Water cress Arugula KohlrabiRutabagaWasabi DrumsticksChinese cabbage
SUMMARY Broccoli offers protection far greater than just antioxidant activity Dietary amounts of broccoli positively impact health (3-5 servings/ week) Too much cooking can destroy the benefit, so eat a raw brassica with the meal
Acknowledgements: Research Collaborators: Kang-Mo Ku and Jack Juvik: plant growth and phytochemical analysis; Nilanjan Das and Mark Berhow: isolation of neoglucobrassicin and bioactivity. This work was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/NIFA AFRI 201065200-20398)