Dietary Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprouts Reduce Colonization and Attenuate Gastritis inHelicobacter pylori–Infected Mice and Humans

Abstract

The isothiocyanate sulforaphane [SF; 1-isothiocyanato-4(R)-methylsulfinylbutane] is abundant in broccoli sprouts in the form of its glucosinolate precursor (glucoraphanin). SF is powerfully bactericidal against Helicobacter pylori infections, which are strongly associated with the worldwide pandemic of gastric cancer. Oral treatment with SF-rich broccoli sprouts of C57BL/6 female mice infected with H. pylori Sydney strain 1 and maintained on a high-salt (7.5% NaCl) diet reduced gastric bacterial colonization, attenuated mucosal expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β, mitigated corpus inflammation, and prevented expression of high salt-induced gastric corpus atrophy. This therapeutic effect was not observed in mice in which the nrf2 gene was deleted, strongly implicating the important role of Nrf2-dependent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory proteins in SF-dependent protection. Forty-eight H. pylori-infected patients were randomly assigned to feeding of broccoli sprouts (70 g/d; containing 420 μmol of SF precursor) for 8 weeks or to consumption of an equal weight of alfalfa sprouts (not containing SF) as placebo. Intervention with broccoli sprouts, but not with placebo, decreased the levels of urease measured by the urea breath test and H. pylori stool antigen (both biomarkers of H. pylori colonization) and serum pepsinogens I and II (biomarkers of gastric inflammation). Values recovered to their original levels 2 months after treatment was discontinued. Daily intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts for 2 months reduces H. pylori colonization in mice and improves the sequelae of infection in infected mice and in humans. This treatment seems to enhance chemoprotection of the gastric mucosa against H. pylori-induced oxidative stress.

Antibiotic treatment forHelicobacter pylori: Is the end coming?

“…Capsaicin has an anti-inflammatory effect and inhibited H. pylori-induced interleukin (IL)-8 production by gastric epithelial cells [160] . Sulphoraphane has also been indicated to suppress colonization and inhibit gastritis in H. pylori-infected mice and humans [161] .…”

Evaluation of the Protective Effect of Brassica oleracea (L. var. acephala) in Rats with Surgically-Induced Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

“…As shown here, treatment with B. oleracea extract decreased the severity of esophagitis without genotoxic and cytotoxic effects. The principal compound present in B. oleracea capable of attenuating inflammation is SF, as demonstrated in gastritis and skin inflammation studies (22)(23)(24)(25). These studies have shown that SF suppresses proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 via nuclear factorerythroid-2-related factor and/or inhibition of the activator protein-1.…”

“…To our knowledge, the present study is the first to describe the anti-inflammatory effect of a B. oleracea extract in esophageal tissue. Of particular interest was the finding that the anti-inflammatory effect was observed at a much lower oral dose of SF/day compared to the doses used in a variety of other rodent experiments (22,23,(26)(27)(28).…”

Flow cytometry for rapid detection of Salmonella spp. in seed sprouts

“…Although they are regarded as a healthy food from a nutritional standpoint [1,2], seed sprouts (alfalfa, broccoli, radish, mung bean, etc.) have historically been problematic from a food safety perspective, as they have been associated with several multistate and international outbreaks of bacterial disease over the past decade or longer [3,4].…”