Broccoli Antioxidant may Benefit Bone Health

by | Jan 23, 2014 | 2013, Arthritis, Bone Health, Sulforaphane

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Cell study suggests that sulforaphane, an antioxidant found in broccoli, may block IL-1, an inflammatory protein present in osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disorder and the leading cause of pain and disability in the US (1), affecting more than half of adults over 65 years of age (2) at a cost of more than $86 billion each year to our healthcare system (3). Fortunately, supplementation in the form of MSM (4) and glucosamine (5) while ensuring adequate intake of vitamin K (6) have shown to help maintain joint health.

Now a new lab study (7) suggests that sulforaphane, an antioxidant found in broccoli, may help with joint health. In the study, researchers exposed human joint cells to sulforaphane for 30 minutes in doses that ranged from 0-20 micromolar. A dosage of 3 micromolar in mice would convert to blood levels in humans that would be effective at approximately 2.3–7.4 micromoles/liter (8, 9). They then exposed the same cells to an inflammatory protein present in osteoarthritis, IL-1, for 45 minutes.

The researchers showed that sulforaphane had a direct effect on IL-1 and another class of enzymes called ADAMTS. Sulforaphane’s effect on IL-1 prevented activation of two enzymes, MMP1 and MMP13, resulting in a bone-protecting effect (10, 11) that increased as the dosage of sulforaphane increased, with 20 micromolar of sulforaphane completely inhibiting IL-1 activity toward MMP1 and MMP13 (p < 0.0001), and 10 micromolar inhibiting IL-1 activity by 80% (p < 0.001).

Regarding ADAMTs, its’ inhibition by sulforaphane again affected MMP13 (12), thereby showing a 2-pronged benefit by sulforaphane to bone health and an indirect effect on MMP13 via IL-1 and ADAMTs. Sulforaphane’s effect on ADAMTS enzymes reached significance at 2.5 micromolar (36% decrease in MMP13 activity, p < 0.05) and increased even further at 5.0 micromolar (61% decrease in MMP13 activity, p < 0.001).

Unfortunately, the researchers did not provide information on actual dosage recommendations of sulforaphane to produce the optimal blood levels. They went on to conclude that “Our data therefore show that a diet [high in antioxidants like sulforaphane] may be a useful measure either to prevent or to slow the progression of osteoarthritis.”

Source: Davidson, R. K., Jupp, O., de Ferrars, R., Kay, C. D., Culley, K. L., Norton, R., Driscoll, C., Vincent, T. L., Donell, S. T., Bao, Y. and Clark, I. M. (2013), Sulforaphane Represses Matrix-Degrading Proteases and Protects Cartilage From Destruction In Vitro and In Vivo. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 65: 3130–3140. doi:10.1002/art.38133

© 2013 The Authors. Creative Commons Attribution License

Click here to read the full text study.

Posted January 23, 2014.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1. Lawrence RC, National Arthritis Data Workgroup: Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and other rheumatic conditions in the United States. Part II.  Arthritis Rheum 2008, 58:26-35
  2. D.T. Felson, An update on the pathogenesis and epidemiology of osteoarthritis,  Radiol Clin North Am 42 (2004), pp. 1–9
  3. Arthritis Foundation Website
  4. Kim LS. Efficacy of methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) in osteoarthritis pain of the knee: a pilot clinical trial. In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online November 23
  5. Ng N. Efficacy of a progressive walking program and glucosamine sulphate supplementation on osteoarthritic symptoms of the hip.  Arthritis Res Ther 2010;12(1):R25. doi: 10.1186/ar2932. Epub 2010 Feb 12
  6. Misra D. Vitamin K deficiency is associated with incident knee osteoarthritis. Am J Med 2013 Mar;126(3):243-8. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2012.10.011
  7. Davidson RK.  Sulforaphane represses matrix-degrading proteases and protects cartilage from destruction in vitro and in vivo.  Arthritis Rheum 2013 Dec;65(12):3130-40. doi: 10.1002/art.38133
  8. Gasper AV, Al-Janobi A, Smith JA, Bacon JR, Fortun P, Atherton C, et al. Glutathione S-transferase M1 polymorphism and metabolism of sulforaphane from standard and high-glucosinolate broccoli.  Am J Clin Nutr 2005;82:1283–91
  9. Hu R, Khor TO, Shen G, Jeong WS, Hebbar V, Chen C, et al. Cancer chemoprevention of intestinal polyposis in ApcMin/            mice by sulforaphane, a natural product derived from cruciferous vegetable. Carcinogenesis 2006;27:2038–46.
  10. Chen WP, Bao JP, Hu PF, Feng J, Wu LD. Alleviation of osteoarthritis by trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in experimental osteoarthritis. Mol Biol Rep 2010;37:3967–72
  11. Culley KL, Hui W, Barter MJ, Davidson RK, Swingler TE, Destrument AP, et al. Class I histone deacetylase inhibition modulates metalloproteinase expression and blocks cytokine-induced cartilage degradation. Arthritis Rheum 2013;65:1822–30
  12. Troeberg L, Nagase H. Proteases involved in cartilage matrix degradation in osteoarthritis. Biochim Biophys Acta 2012;1824: 133–45