SUPER-BROCCOLI that packs an extra punch against cancer has been bred from
ordinary broccoli and a scrawny wild Sicilian relative. Compared with regular
broccoli, it contains 10 times as much sulphoraphane, a substance that helps to
neutralise cancer-causing substances in the gut.
鈥淭he super-broccoli looks and tastes the same as ordinary broccoli,鈥� says
Gary Williamson, head of the team at the Institute of Food Research in Norwich
that developed the souped-up version.
Sulphoraphane is found in all brassicas, including sprouts and cauliflower.
But broccoli has the highest concentrations. When sulphoraphane is released in
the gut by broccoli, it steps up production of glutathione
transferases鈥攑owerful enzymes that destroy cancer-causing substances in
food, such as those found in heavily barbecued meat.
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Williamson, who described the super-broccoli earlier this month at an
Institute of Food Research seminar in London, expects that people who eat it
will produce even higher concentrations of glutathione transferases. Trials are
due to begin soon in human volunteers, who will eat either super-broccoli or
ordinary broccoli. Williamson wants to see if the superbroccoli boosts
concentrations of glutathione transferases in gut and blood samples compared
with ordinary broccoli. He also hopes to show the super-broccoli is better at
protecting the DNA in cells from the ravages of time.
The super-broccoli, originally bred at the nearby John Innes Centre, is being
developed with two commercial partners.