Broccoli Sprouts

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I contacted the person who wrote this article. He told me to only use the

late season varieties of broccoli sprouts as these varieties are mush higher in

glucoraphanin, in fact 30 fold higher than mature broccoli from a shop and much

higher than early season broccoli varieties.

moonbeam

Broccoli Varieties Differ in Anti-Cancer Potential

By Hank Becker hbecker@...

Agricultural Research News Service - USDA 2-2-01

In a ground-breaking study, Agricultural Research Service scientists have

screened

broccoli varieties to see if they induce activity of a key enzyme in mammals

that

may protect against certain cancers.

Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Mark W. Farnham at ARS' U.S.

Vegetable Laboratory in ton, S.C., worked with scientists in the Brassica

Chemoprotection Laboratory at s Hopkins University's School of Medicine,

Baltimore, Md. The scientists evaluated a diverse collection of broccoli

(Brassica

oleracea) varieties for their ability to stimulate what's called a mammalian

detoxification enzyme--which helps protect mammals against development of

cancer.

In 1996 and 1997, Farnham grew 71 USDA broccoli varieties and five commercial

hybrids in the field, and then took extracts from each one. In these extracts,

the

scientists looked for a chemoprotective compound called glucoraphanin. A

derivative

of glucoraphanin spurs mammals to induce activity of detoxification enzymes. The

scientists found a 30-fold variation in glucoraphanin and the activity of these

enzymes among the broccoli tested. In the future, scientists could use the

enzyme

activity to gauge a broccoli variety's anti-cancer potential.

Broccoli florets and young seedlings are rich sources of glucoraphanin and its

breakdown product, sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is a potent inducer of mammalian

detoxification enzyme activity and inhibits early tumor growth in rodent models.

Scientists know little about variations of glucoraphanin and sulforaphane in

broccoli varieties. If genetic variation among varieties does exist, then

breeders

could exploit it to develop new varieties with greater levels of the protective

compounds. And eating such improved broccoli might stimulate an enhanced

chemoprotective response against cancer.

ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture.

_____ Scientific contact: Mark Farnham, U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, ton,

S.C.,

phone (843) 556- 0840, fax (843) 763-7013, mfarnham@...