Some people did not enjoy eating broccoli as children, but a study by the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine found the vegetable has a beneficial chemical compound.
Last week, UCLA researchers published their findings about sulforaphane, a chemical in broccoli that can help boost the aging immune system, which defends the body from infection and disease. Sulforaphane is specific to broccoli and other mustard family plants such as cabbage and cauliflower.
Sulforaphane activates antioxidants, molecules that prevent cell damage by switching on a master gene regulator that controls over 200 genes, said Dr. Andre Nel, the study’s principal investigator and chief of nanomedicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
Antioxidants fight cell damage caused by oxidation, a process in which supercharged forms of oxygen attack the cells of human tissues. Oxidation is thought to be one of the leading causes of aging, Nel said.
After studying aging and the immune system for at least a decade, Nel and his research team have been focusing on the biology of oxidative stress in organisms for the last three years.
In general, older animals and older people have more oxidative stress in their bodies, said Dr. Rita Effros, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
Because the immune system tends to deteriorate as one gets older, many studies have shown that the ability to fight cancer and other diseases decreases with age, Nel said.
But the young community can take steps to prevent an aging immune system and decrease the risk of cancer.
According to a study by Dr. David Heber, the director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, daily intake of 400 to 600 grams of fruits and vegetables is associated with reduced incidences of many common forms of cancer.
Consuming a variety of nutrients, including sulforaphane, can also help prevent cancer in the long run.
Sulforaphane is a special property only found in mustard family plants that protects human immune systems, said Alona Zerlin, a registered dietician at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
While many mustard family plants have sulforaphane, broccoli has the highest amounts.
For people who do not enjoy eating broccoli, other options are available. Other mustard family vegetables, such as cauliflower, share the same benefits as broccoli, Zerlin said.
In addition to analyzing antioxidant genes, Nel and his researchers have also been studying sulforaphane’s influence on allergies, since it may also suppress allergic responses.
Dendritic cells, the cells that deliver sulforaphane, digest harmful substances and present them to the immune system, Nel said.
As dendritic cell functions are boosted, the ability to produce substances that could cause allergic reactions decreases, he said.
The study of the chemistry of sulforaphane and dendritic cells could lead to the development of new pharmaceuticals. Nel said that it is possible to extract dendritic cells, add sulforaphane to the cells and inject the product back into human tissue. He said dendritic cell therapy for humans may be possible in the near future.
Moreover, studies on the aging immune system continue as the American population is rapidly aging.
Currently, people are having fewer children and the baby-boomer population is getting older and health-conscious, Effros said.
“We know that infections are a major cause of mortality in older people, so the more research that can be done by understanding immune defects and trying to correct them, the better the chance of increasing health span,” she said.