Cancer

A recent intervention study demonstrated that cruciferous vegetables could increase the detoxification of carcinogens and other xenobiotics in humans. In this 12-week randomized controlled trial in 391 healthy Chinese adults exposed to high levels of air pollution, daily consumption of a broccoli sprout-rich beverage (providing 600 µmol/day of glucoraphanin and 40 µmol/day of sulforaphane) significantly increased the urinary excretion of a known carcinogen, benzene, and a toxicant, acrolein, compared to placebo (20). The biological activities of glucosinolate derivatives, isothiocyanates and indole-3-carbinol, which include modulation of xenobiotic metabolism, but also antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inhibition of angiogenesis, likely contribute to the potential benefits of cruciferous vegetables in the prevention of cancer (see the MIC articles on Isothiocyanates and Indole-3-Carbinol) (23).