Broccoli Averts Liver Cancer

BALTIMORE—Broccoli sprouts help the body detoxify carcinogens, reducing the risk of developing liver cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention (14, 11:2605-13, 2005) (http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/).

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Qidong Liver Cancer Institute (Qidong, China), Jiao Tong University (Shanghai) and the University of Minnesota Cancer Center (Minneapolis) conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled chemoprevention trial to test whether drinking hot water infusions of three-day-old broccoli sprouts containing known levels of the anticarcinogenic compound sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), could alter the disposition of aflatoxin and phenanthrene (carcinogens). One hundred test subjects drank 5 oz/d of the extract, prepared as a liquid extract to ensure standard dosages and equivalent to consuming approximately 2 oz.

broccoli sprouts for two weeks. A control group drank a similar extract containing virtually no SGS. Tests conducted on urine of individuals given the high-SGS extract suggested carcinogens were being detoxified and flushed from the body. There was an inverse association between levels of sulforaphane derivatives in the urine and DNA damage. The researchers concluded an understanding of factors influencing glucosinolate hydrolysis and bioavailability will be required for optimal use of broccoli sprouts in human interventions.

“While this study did not directly look at liver cancer, it is clear that liver cancer has had devastating consequences in this region of China and in other parts of the world,” said Jian-Guo Chen, M.D., participating epidemiologist with the Qidong Liver Cancer Institute. “This study is an initial step in evaluating dietary methods for preventing this disease, and it may be applicable to other types of cancers.”

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