|
ISS
820 East 20th Street
Cookeville, TN 38501 USA
931 526 1106
Bob@sproutnet.com
中文版
En espaņol
| |
Broccoli
sprouts relieves gastritis, possibly help prevent gastric cancer
By David Liu, Ph.D.
Nov 1, 2005, 09:57
Foodconsumer.org
A new
study finds that regularly eating broccoli sprouts may help prevent gastric
cancer by reducing Helicobacteri pylori (H. pylori) infection, which is known to
cause gastritis and is believed to be a major factor in peptic ulcer and stomach
cancer.
The study, conducted by a Japanese team, found that
taking a diet with 100 grams of broccoli sprouts per day resulted in patients
with H. pylori infection experiencing a significant reduction of H. pylori and
pepsinogen (a biomarker in the blood indicating the degree of gastritis).
"Even though we were unable to eradicate H. pylori,
to be able suppress it and relieve the accompanying gastritis by means as simple
as eating more broccoli sprouts is good news for the many people who are
infected," said Akinori Yanaka, who is from the University of Tsukuba, Japan,
and served as lead investigator of the study.
In the study, scientists examined the protective
properties of a chemical derived from broccoli sprouts called sulforaphane,
which is protective against oxidations in cells that can damage DNA, and injure
cells potentially causing cancer.
Previous studies by others discovered that
sulforaphane acts against H. pylori in vitro, alleviating gastritis in H.
pylori-infected mice through its antioxidant activity. No study has been
performed in humans before.
The
team recruited 40 patients infected with H. pylori. 20 people from the group
took a diet with 100 grams of two or three-day old sulforaphane-rich broccoli
sprouts each day for two months. The remaining 20 used a diet with 100 grams of
alfalfa sprouts instead of broccoli sprouts for the same period.
"We wanted to test alfalfa spouts together with
broccoli sprouts," Yanaka explained, "because the chemical constituents of the
two plants are almost identical." 100 grams of broccoli sprouts contain 250
milligrams of sulforaphane glucosinolate whereas alfalfa sprouts contain neither
sulforaphane nor sulforaphane glucosinlate.
Glucosinolates naturally occur in cruciferous
vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Glucosilates can be
degraded enzymatically into sulforaphane and other bioactive components when the
sprouts are chewed or cut.
For the study, the presence of H. pylori and the
degree of gastritis were evaluated at the start of the study, and at one month
and two month intervals.
At the end of the two-month dietary regimen, patients
consuming 100 grams of broccoli sprouts per day showed significantly less H.
pylori and markedly decreased pepsinogen (an indicator of gastric atrophy).
Alfalfa sprouts did not show any effect.
The broccoli could not eliminate H. pylori
completely. Taking the diet without broccoli sprouts for two months, H. pylori
and pepsinogen came back to pre-trial levels in the subjects.
"The data suggest strongly that a diet rich in
sulforaphane glucosinolate may help protect against gastric cancer, presumably
by activating gastric mucosal anti-oxidant enzymes that can protect the cells
from H. pylori-induced DNA damage," Yanaka concluded.
Previous studies have already found that broccoli
sprouts possess anticancer properties. One study presented on July 18, in
New Orleans,
at the annual Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) conference reported
eating broccoli or broccoli sprouts may slow the growth of bladder cancer.
The effect was associated with compounds glucosinolates and isothiocyanates.
Another study found eating broccoli and other
cruciferous vegetables may lower the odds of developing lung cancer in the
population that carries inactive genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1 by 72 percent
(compared with those who did not eat the vegetables). The chemopreventive effect
was associated with isothiocyanates.
The current study titled Daily Intake of
Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprouts Improves Gastritis in H.pylori-Infected Human
Subjects was presented on Oct. 31 at the American Association for Cancer
Research's 4th annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting in
Baltimore.
|
