| Love it or hate it, the rich source of nutrients in leafy | | | | team from Penn State College of Medicine, involved |
| green vegetables have shown themselves to be | | | | compounds taken from cruciferous vegetables like |
| remarkably beneficial in two very different studies | | | | broccoli that were used on mice in an effort to judge |
| for two very different, but equally devastating, | | | | their cancer fighting ability, specifically as it relates to |
| conditions. At last find out the link between | | | | melanoma. |
| vegetables and cancer. | | | | As one of the most invasive and deadly forms of |
| The first, conducted by a team out of UCLA, | | | | skin cancer, melanoma in its advanced stages is |
| identified a compound found in broccoli (and other | | | | difficult to treat, and there aren't many options for |
| cruciferous vegetables) that might help to stop | | | | patients. |
| respiratory inflammation, the kind that's linked to | | | | This work sought to change that - to see if there |
| diseases like asthma, allergic rhinitis and COPD, chronic | | | | was a compound that might disrupt this type of |
| obstructive pulmonary disease. | | | | cancer. |
| Known to science as sulforaphane, the compound is | | | | After screening a library of natural substances, the |
| naturally part of fresh broccoli and seems to | | | | team identified some good candidates, but potency |
| stimulate the production of more than one | | | | was an issue, and work had to be done to make the |
| antioxidant enzyme in the airway. | | | | natural compounds even more potent. |
| These work to protect the airway against tissue | | | | That's where the team altered the vegetable-based |
| damaging free radicals that are an unavoidable part | | | | compounds by replacing their sulfur bonds with |
| of the air we breathe every day. | | | | selenium. |
| The study, published in the March 2009 issue of | | | | This created a more powerful medication that can be |
| Clinical Immunology, involved 65 people who got | | | | delivered in low doses via IV. |
| different doses of either broccoli or alfalfa sprout | | | | Curiously, selenium deficiency is well known in cancer |
| preparations for three days in a row. | | | | patients, and the substance has also been shown to |
| Broccoli sprouts are the richest source of | | | | destabilize proteins in certain types of cancer cells. |
| sulforaphane, while the alfalfa doesn't have any of | | | | The results are intriguing. Not only did the compounds |
| the compound and so acted as a placebo. | | | | slow the production and interfered the signaling |
| Rinses of nasal passages were collected at the start | | | | network of a protein that's involved in melanoma |
| and end of the study, and the UCLA team found | | | | development, tumor growth was cut by 60%. |
| significant increases of antioxidant enzymes at | | | | When the team tested the combination drug they'd |
| broccoli sprout intake of 100 grams and higher, | | | | created on human melanoma cells, they saw |
| compared with the placebo group. | | | | anywhere from 30% to 70% effectiveness. |
| The maximum broccoli dosage of 200 grams caused | | | | Good numbers, but only a beginning. Human trials of |
| a 101% increase of key antioxidant enzymes. | | | | this new drug are likely years away. |
| "We found a two to threefold increase in antioxidant | | | | Gavin Robertson, associate professor of |
| enzymes in the nasal airway cells of study | | | | pharmacology, pathology and dermatology at Penn |
| participants who had eaten a preparation of broccoli | | | | State who holds a provisional patent on the |
| sprouts," explains lead investigator Dr. Marc Riedl, an | | | | discovery concludes, "We have harnessed something |
| assistant professor of clinical immunology and allergy | | | | found in nature to target melanoma. And since we |
| at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. | | | | only need tiny amounts to kill the cancer cells, it |
| "This strategy may offer protection against | | | | means even less toxic side effects for the patient." |
| inflammatory processes and could lead to potential | | | | Both the UCLA and Penn State research point out |
| treatments for a variety of respiratory conditions." | | | | that broccoli is one of the better vegetables when |
| More work is needed before a specific dose can be | | | | considering the benefits of vegetables and cancer. |
| determined, still upping your intake of delicious, all | | | | Not only is it delicious, and packed with nutrients, but |
| natural broccoli is a great part of a healthy, balanced | | | | it might offer some help (and hope) in the fight |
| diet. | | | | against some pretty dangerous, sometimes deadly, |
| The second of the two studies, undertaken by a | | | | diseases. |