Broccoli Antioxidant Again Found to Help with Digestive Health

by | Jun 12, 2009 | 2009, Digestive Health, Fruits and Vegetables, Sulforaphane

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In this study of 50 patients with gastritis, those who consumed 70 grams of  broccoli sprouts per day for 2 months significantly decreased inflammation, demonstrating that the anti inflammatory properties of sulforaphone in broccoli protect against H.pylori and gastric cancer.
Stomach cancer affects mostly older people. The average age at diagnosis is 71 and two-thirds of people with stomach cancer are older than 65. Americans have a 1 in 100 risk of developing stomach cancer and 21,500 Americans (13,190 men and 8,310 women) will be diagnosed with stomach cancer during 2008. There will be about 10,880 (6,450 men and 4,430 women) deaths from this stomach cancer in 2008 (1), with the average cost to treat stomach cancer averaging $40,000 per case (2).

Dietary factors such as increased salt intake (3) and consumption of burned foods (4) have been found to increase stomach cancer risk. One condition shown to increase stomach cancer risk is gastritis, which is an inflammation of the stomach lining (5). One cause of this inflammation is the presence of a bacterium called H. Pylori (5). Fortunately, research has started to show that an antioxidant found in broccoli called sulforaphane can help with H. Pylori infections (6) and can be effective in doses as little as 70 grams of broccoli sprouts per day (7).

Now a new study (8) has continued to show the ability of broccoli sprouts to promote digestive health. In the study, 50 patients with an average age of 54 years and diagnosed with gastritis were given either 70 grams of broccoli sprouts per day or 70 grams of alfalfa sprouts per day for two months. Before and after the study, the researchers measured levels of two proteins called PG1 and PG2. They also calculated their PG1/PG2 ratio, which is a “more robust indicator” of stomach inflammation (9).

By the end of two months, those in the broccoli sprout group had significant decreases in both PG1 (21% drop in broccoli group vs. 8% in alfalfa group) and PG2 (25% vs. 5%) as well as a significant increase in the PG1 and PG2 ratio (15% vs. 3%) compared to the placebo group. PG1 and PG2 levels in the broccoli sprout group returned to their pre-study levels two months after stopping broccoli sprout supplementation.

For the researchers, “the findings in this study strongly suggest that sulforaphane has promise both as an antibacterial agent directed against H. pylori and as a dietary preventive agent against the development of human gastric cancer.”

Source: Yanaka, Akinori, et al. “Dietary sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts reduce colonization and attenuate gastritis in Helicobacter pylori–infected mice and humans.” Cancer Prevention Research 2.4 (2009): 353-360.

©2009 American Association for Cancer Research.

Posted June 12, 2009. 

References:

  1. “What Are The Key Statistics About Stomach Cancer?” posted on The American Cancer Society website.
  2. “Economic determinants of gastric cancer and malignancies of the gastroesophageal junction in the in- and out-patient setting” presented at the 2002 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.
  3. Lee SA, Kang D, Shim KN, Choe JW, Hong WS, Choi H. Effect of diet and Helicobacter pylori infection to the risk of early gastric cancer. J Epidemiol 2003;13:162–8.
  4. Ward MH, Sinha R, Heineman EF, et al. Risk of adenocarcinoma of the stomach and esophagus with meat cooking method and doneness preference. Int J Cancer 1997;71:14–9.
  5. “Gastritis” posted on The National Society of Clinical Oncology website.
  6. Broccoli Sprouts Relieve Gastritis in H. pylori Patients; May Help Prevent Gastric Cancer (Abstract #3442)” posted on posted on the American Association for Cancer Research Website.
  7. Yanaka A.  Dietary Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprouts Reduce Colonization and Attenuate Gastritis in Helicobacter pylori–Infected Mice and Humans.  Cancer Prev Res 2009 Apr;2(4):353-60.
  8. Fox JG, Dangler CA, Taylor NS, King A, Koh TJ, Wang TC. High-salt diet induces gastric epithelial hyperplasia and parietal cell loss, and enhances Helicobacter pylori colonization in C57BL/6 mice. Cancer Res 1999;59:4823–8.
  9. Ohkusa T, Miwa H, Nomura T, et al. Improvement in serum pepsinogens and gastrin in long-term monitoring after eradication of Helicobacter pylori. Alimenatry Pharmacology & Therapeutics, December 2006.