Broccoli extract may cure cancer

December 3, 2015 / BIOON / - a compound found in broccoli shoots that not only helps prevent cancer, but also has the potential to cure it This compound, called sulforaphane, is widely found in vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cabbage, and especially in high concentrations of broccoli buds Sulforaphane can also be used as a dietary supplement for the treatment of degenerative neuropathy (BSE) Scientists at the Texas Center for agricultural, industrial and Health Sciences and researchers in Oregon have previously found that sulforaphane can inhibit colon and prostate cancer cells in vitro in laboratory cell tests They have now shown that the compound has a similar effect in humans In a clinical study, 28 volunteers over the age of 50 were undergoing routine colonoscopy The researchers also conducted a survey of their eating habits with cruciferous vegetables Their colon biopsies found that those who ate broccoli regularly had higher levels of p16, a tumor suppressor gene, compared with those who ate little or no cruciferous vegetables However, it seems strange that sulforaphane can not be detected in the body in less than 24 hours This may suggest that some epigenetic modifications are triggered by sulforaphane and its metabolites, so that even if sulforaphane remains for a short time, downstream mechanisms or pathways can still be sustained, at least in the short term still have an impact on cells " In other words, eating foods that contain sulforaphane can "change" your genes and help your body fight tumor growth But that's not all good news In animal models, sulforaphane has been shown to generally inhibit the development of colon cancer, but it is actually a double-edged sword Sulforaphane can induce the expression of Nrf2, which has the function of anti-oxidation and detoxification, and is obviously beneficial to anti-cancer However, in the later stage of cancer development, Nrf2 can also promote tumor growth, and even enhance the accumulation of cancer cell plaque in the artery Therefore, scientists believe that Nrf2 is worthy of further study, not only for cancer treatment, but also for its possible role in regulating cardiovascular disease.