The current work builds on a major study conducted six years ago by Harvard and Ohio State universities that found that men who ate two or more half-cup servings of broccoli per week had a 44 percent lower incidence of bladder cancer compared to men who ate less than one serving each week.

"We're starting to look at which compounds in broccoli could inhibit or decrease the growth of cancerous cells," said Steven Schwartz, a study co-author and a professor of food science and technology at Ohio State University .

"Knowing that could help us create functional foods that benefit health beyond providing just basic nutrition."

Some 63,000 people will be diagnosed with bladder cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society. And more than 13,000 with the disease will die.

The researchers isolated compounds called glucosinolates from broccoli sprouts. During chopping, chewing and digestion, these phytochemicals morph into nutritional powerhouses called isothiocyanates compounds that the scientists believed play a role in inhibiting cancer.

Their hunch was right, at least in the laboratory experiments. There, isothiocyanates hindered the growth of bladder cancer cells. And the most profound effect was on the most aggressive form of bladder cancer they studied.

The researchers presented their findings on July 18 in New Orleans at the annual Institute of Food Technologists meeting.

They first extracted and measured the levels of glucosinolates from broccoli sprouts. They then used a process that uses enzymes to convert the glucosinolates to isothiocyanates.

While young sprouts naturally have higher concentrations of these phytochemicals than full-grown broccoli spears, eating the spears also provides health benefits, Schwartz said.
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Contact: Steven Schwartz
Schwartz.177@osu.edu
614-292-2934
Ohio State University
28-Jul-2005