(NaturalNews) Levels of the beneficial, cancer-fighting compound sulforaphane in broccoli are reduced by 90 percent when the vegetable is cooked, according to a study conducted by researchers from TNO Quality of Life in the Netherlands, and published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
"Consumption of raw broccoli resulted in faster absorption, higher bioavailability, and higher peak plasma amounts of sulforaphane, compared to cooked broccoli," the researchers wrote.
University of Illinois researcher Elizabeth Jeffery has learned how to maximize the cancer-fighting power of broccoli. It involves heating broccoli just enough to eliminate a sulfur-grabbing protein, but not enough to stop the plant from releasing an important cancer-fighting compound called sulforaphane.
The discovery of this sulfur-grabbing protein in the Jeffery lab makes it possible to maximize the amount of the anticarcinogen sulforaphane in broccoli.
Bioavailability and Kinetics of Sulforaphane in Humans after Consumption of Cooked versus Raw Broccoli
Martijn Vermeulen*, Ineke W. A. A. Klpping-Ketelaars†, Robin van den Berg‡ and Wouter H. J. Vaes
J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56 (22), pp 10505-10509
Publication Date (Web): October 24, 2008 (Article)
DOI: 10.1021/jf801989e
The April issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research published the results of a trial conducted by scientists at Tokyo University of Science, the University of Tsukuba in Japan, and Johns Hopkins University which determined that the isothiocyanate sulforaphane, a compound that occurs in high amounts in broccoli and its sprouts, helps suppress infection by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), the bacteria responsible for stomach ulcers and many cases of stomach cancer. The trial is the first to demonstrate an effect for broccoli against H. pylori in humans.
The influence of processing and preservation on the retention of health-promoting compounds in broccoli.
Galgano F, Favati F, Caruso M, Pietrafesa A, Natella S.
J Food Sci. 2007 Mar;72(2):S130-5.
PMID: 17995854
DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00258.x