Broccoli sprouts have antioxidant properties that help fight oxidative stress and reduce the risk of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and strokes.
- According to one study, broccoli sprouts contain seven times more polysulfide than mature broccoli.
- Polysulfides are chemical compounds with antioxidant properties.
- This discovery could, ultimately, allow the development of new treatments against stroke, cancer and degenerative diseases.
Gratined, mashed, cooked in water or in a pan… There are different ways to eat broccoli. And we should not deprive ourselves of it because, according to a study published in the journal Redox Biologythis vegetable would be very good for your health.
The antioxidant properties of broccoli
More specifically, researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University, in Japan, discovered that broccoli sprouts were particularly good for your health. They contain, according to them, a seven times greater quantity of polysulfides than mature broccoli. With a twenty-fold increase on the fifth day of germination, i.e. growth.
Polysulfides are chemical compounds which, according to the study, have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are molecules that protect cells from oxidative stress. This corresponds to an attack on cells by free radicals, molecules that can damage them.
Limit oxidative stress and the risk of disease
“The discovery of the significant increase in the quantity of polysulfides (…) is very surprising,” explains Professor Shingo Kasamatsu, one of the authors, in a communicated. With his team, he plans to continue research to better understand the role of polysulfides, which “could lead to the development of new curative or preventive properties and new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, cancer, inflammation and other diseases linked to oxidative stress”.
A previous study already believed that the antioxidant properties of mushrooms could help fight oxidative stress and reduce the risk of cancer. The results showed that people who ate 18 grams of mushrooms per day had a 45% reduced risk of cancer compared to those who did not consume them.
Chocolate – 70% cocoa minimum – is a food very rich in antioxidants. This is also the case for certain fruits (citrus fruits, plums, kiwis) and vegetables, such as cauliflower, red or white cabbage, black radish and, of course, broccoli!
