Broccoli Compound Boost for Immune Health

[Guest guest]

Broccoli Compound Boost For Immune Health By Stephen Daniells

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=83799 & m=1NIU307 & c=hexeybtitgrh\

vkp 07-Mar-2008 - A compound found in broccoli, previously linked to

anti-cancer benefits, may also counter the decline in the body's immune system

associated with age, says a new study from UCLA. The compound sulforaphane was

found to activate a set of antioxidant genes and enzymes in specific immune

cells, which then combat the detrimental effects of free radicals that can

damage cells and lead to disease, reports the study in the Journal of Allergy

and Clinical Immunology.

 

" Our defence against oxidative stress damage may determine at what rate we age,

how it will manifest and how to interfere in those processes, " explained lead

researcher Andre Nel from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

 

" In particular, our study shows that a chemical present in broccoli is capable

of stimulating a wide range of antioxidant defence pathways and may be able to

interfere with the age-related decline in immune function. "

 

Broccoli and mice

 

Using mice as test animals, the UCLA researchers administered sulforaphane (nine

micromoles per day per mouse) for five days before being challenged with

infection, and for a further 11 days.

 

Direct administration of broccoli compounds resulted in a reversal in the

age-related decline in immune function in old mice. Similar results were also

obtained when individual immune cells were taken from old mice, exposed to

sulforaphane and then injected back into the animal.

 

" We found that treating older mice with sulforaphane increased the immune

response to the level of younger mice, " said lead author Hyon-Jeen Kim.

 

In particular, sulfurophane was found to restore immune function in the older

animals by directhe scientists discovered that dendritic cells, which introduce

infectious agents and foreign substances to the immune system, were particularly

effective in restoring immune function in aged animals when treated with

sulforaphane.

 

Antioxidant boost

 

Previous studies have reported that sulforaphane works by inducing the body's

natural phase-2 enzyme antioxidant defences, and the researchers looked at the

Nrf2 pathway, said to be the most sensitive oxidative stress response, and a

master regulator of the body's overall antioxidant response, capable of

switching on hundreds of antioxidant and rejuvenating genes and enzymes.

 

" As we age, the ability of the immune system to fight disease and infections and

protect against cancer wears down as a result of the impact of oxygen radicals

on the immune system, " added Nel.

 

The researchers report that, while there is a natural decline in the activity of

Nrf2 with ageing, the pathway did remain accessible to compounds like

sulforaphane that are capable of restoring some of the ravages of ageing by

boosting antioxidant pathways.

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" This finding could be of major significance in preventing or reversing the

effects of immune senescence in elderly human subjects, " wrote the authors.

 

" Dietary antioxidants have been shown to have important effects on immune

function, including improvement of contact hypersensitivity (CHS) and

vaccination responses in human subjects. To this list we can now add broccoli

and other cruciferous vegetables that are deserving of a human trial, " they

added.

 

In the meantime, Nel suggested including these vegetables as part of a healthy

diet.

 

And looking to the future, Nel said that free radicals may only be part of the

answer.

" It may prove to be a more multifaceted process and interplay between pro- and

antioxidant forces, " he said.

 

Moreover, the chemistry leading to activation of this gene-regulation pathway

could be offer a means to combine pharmaceutical science and nutrition,

suggested the researchers.

 

" This is a radical new way of thinking in how to increase the immune function of

elderly people to possibly protect against viral infections and cancer, " said

Nel. " We may have uncovered a new mechanism by which to boost vaccine responses

by using a nutrient chemical to impact oxidant stress pathways in the immune

system. "

 

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging, the UCLA Claude D.

Pepper Older Adults Independence Center, and the National Institute of Allergy

and Infectious Diseases.

 

History of sulforaphane

 

In 1992 researchers from John Hopkins University School of Medicine were the

first to isolate sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS) - the precursor to

sulforaphane - and subsequently created Brassica Protection Products to develop

and commercialise the broccolis sprouts in the US.

 

In December 2005 British researchers announced the development of Super

Broccoli, which contains three times the levels of sulforaphane than normal

mature broccoli, but still less than that found in the three-day old sprouts.

 

Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Elsevier)

Published online ahead of print 5 March 2008, doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2008.01.016

" Nrf2 activation by sulforaphane restores the age-related decrease of TH1

immunity: Role of dendritic cells "

Authors: H.-J. Kim, B. Barajas, M. Wang, A.E. Nel

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

How would that affect autoimmune disease? All these things which

boost/stimulate the immune system can sometimes exacerbate autoimmune response

and make

it turn on the body even more!

P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Let me start with saying, I love broccoli. And everything is probably

true about what you said. However, they are using color enhancers on

broccoli these days which would make it harmful to some.

[Guest guest]

Color enhancers are CHEMICALS

http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/coloradditives121007.html