Sulforaphane

[beach sunrise]

Sulforaphane: A Potential Anticancer Agent
The evidence supports sulforaphane (from broccoli) as a potential anticancer agent that could inhibit tumor development and could protect normal tissues by changing common processes.

(Negrette-Guzmán M, Huerta-Yepez S, Vega MI, et al. Sulforaphane induces differential modulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and dynamics in normal cells and tumor cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 2017 Feb;100:90-102. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2016.12.020. Epub 2016 Dec 18. PMID: 27993529)
Sulforaphane: Positive Effects
Sulforaphane is present in cruciferous vegetables, particularly broccoli and broccoli sprouts. It was discovered by Swiss chemists in the 1940s. But its role in cancer was explained by Paul Talalay, MD, the late Director of the Laboratory for Molecular Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Technically, though, sulforaphane is not present in broccoli. What is present are two compartmentalized chemicals. Sulforaphane is only produced when one compound called glucoraphanin is forced into contact with the second chemical, an enzyme named myrosinase. This happens when the plant is damaged such as by chewing on the part of caterpillars. This creates sulforaphane, which is a natural insecticide. But it turns out that in the human body this chemical is far more toxic to cancer cells than to normal cells. Thus it has an anticancer effect in humans. The enzyme, myrosinase, is deactivated by heating. Thus, if you want to get sulforaphane by eating cooked broccoli you have to also eat a small piece (or floret) of raw broccoli to provide the needed enzymes.

Sulforaphane: Adverse Effects
Most of the research on sulforaphane pertains to broccoli sprouts. According to the MSKCC website, the product is generally well tolerated. There was a rigorous clinical trial at Johns Hopkins on healthy volunteers. The design of the trial was complex. The basic conclusion:

“No significant or consistent subjective or objective abnormal events (toxicities) associated with any of the sprout extract ingestions were observed.”
(Shapiro TA, Fahey JW, Dinkova-Kostova AT, et al. Safety, tolerance, and metabolism of broccoli sprout glucosinolates and isothiocyanates: a clinical phase I study. Nutr Cancer. 2006;55(1):53-62)
But in a feasibility study digestive problems, nausea, and vomiting were observed in a feasibility study of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Here is how they phrase it:

“The higher percentage of discontinuation in the treatment group may have been due to an increase in digestive problems induced by the broccoli sprouts. Additionally, disgust due to the broccoli flavor coming from the stomach after the capsule intake was reported, and this may have increased nausea and emesis; however, no severe impact on the patient’s self-care and overall abilities were observed.”
We have eaten broccoli sprouts many times without incident. However, ours were actual sprouts that we bought at a food coop or sprouted ourselves. They were not in the form of pills.