Eat you broccoli!

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Hi, all

A good reason to eat your broccoli.

Morton

 

 

Broccoli Beats Ulcers, Cancer

Vegetable Chemical Kills Dangerous Bacteria

 

By : Jennifer Warner

 

WebMD Medical News. Reviewed By Michael Smith,

MD

 

 

May 28, 2002 -- If new research holds true, the current President Bush

and his famous father may want to rethink their shared

distaste for broccoli. Scientists say that a chemical found in

broccoli can kill one of the most frequent causes of ulcers -- a

bacterium that can also lead to stomach cancer.

 

Researchers say as much as 80% to 90% of the people in developing

countries are infected with H. pylori -- the bacterium

that causes ulcers and can lead to deadly stomach cancers. And the

bacterium is also found commonly in people in the U.S.

that suffer from ulcers or stomach irritation. Although the infection

can usually be treated with a combination of antibiotics, about 15% to

20% of cases are resistant to treatment.

 

But the secret ingredient in broccoli -- called sulforaphane -- may

provide a valuable alternative for treating these infections.

In laboratory tests, researchers found a purified form of sulforaphane

even killed forms of the bacteria that were resistant to commonly used

antibiotics. The research appears in the May 28 issue of the Proceedings

of the National Academy of Sciences. " We've known for some time that

sulforaphane had modest antibiotic activity, " says study author Jed

Fahey, a plant physiologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in

a news release. " However, its potency against [H. pylori], even those

strains resistant to conventional antibiotics, was a pleasant surprise. "

 

The researchers say more studies are needed to determine if dietary

sources of sulforaphane, such as broccoli, are powerful enough on their

own to kill the bacteria. If further studies confirm this finding,

vegetables may be adapted to various regions for use by the local

populations to reduce H. pylori infection.

 

Researchers say they aren't exactly sure how the compound works as an

infection fighter. But animal tests show it may protect against cancer

by boosting the production of proteins that detoxify certain

cancer-causing agents.

 

Fahey, co-author Paul Talalay, and The Johns Hopkins University own

stock in Brassica Protection Products, a company that develops food

products for scientific uses and sells broccoli sprouts.