Broccoli sprouts have received star status in the realm of nutrition for their extremely high levels of certain antioxidant compounds called isothiocyanates. These sulfur-containing compounds are capable of modulating the body's immune response and, as a result, broccoli sprouts possess high anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity. Recent research has yielded much information on the impressive nutritional value of these diminutive sprouts.
Vitamins and Minerals
Broccoli contains as much as 123 mg vitamin C, 360 mg beta carotene, 75 mg calcium per cup and almost 200 percent of the daily value for vitamin K, according to the website WHFoods.org. These and other nutrients in broccoli are more concentrated in the sprouts. Glucoraphanin is the compound in broccoli sprouts which can be processed into the anticancer sulfur-containing compounds called isothiocyanates. Broccoli sprouts contain up to 30 to 50 times the amounts of isothiocyanates found in mature broccoli, according to the website RaySahelian.com.
Ideal Age
Three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain 10 to 100 times more sulforaphane, a type of isothiocyante, than mature broccoli plants, according to a study by J.W. Fahey et al., at Brassica Chemoprotection Laboratory and Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. In the study, published in the September 1997 "Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, U.S.A." journal, extracts of the sprouts reduced the incidence and growth rate of breast cancer in laboratory rats.
Nutrient Availability
Chew your broccoli sprouts thoroughly to obtain the most nutritional value from them, say researchers T.A. Shapiro et al., at the Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. In the study, published in the May 2001 "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention" journal, broccoli sprouts were subjected to various forms of processing, including boiling and chewing or not chewing. The researchers concluded that thorough chewing resulted in six times greater isothiocyanate availability.
Ideal Growing Conditions
Higher temperature growing conditions result in more nutritious broccoli sprouts, according to a study by F.M. Pereira et al., at the Department of Plant Science and Agricultural Engineering, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Vila Real, Portugal. Sprouts grown at 92 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 60 degrees overnight contained significantly higher levels of sulforaphane than sprouts grown at 72 degrees during the day and 60 degrees overnight, according to the researchers of the study, published in the October 2002 "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry." The stress of the wider difference in day and nighttime temperatures may have also contributed to the results, say authors.
References
- RaySahelian.com: Broccoli Sprouts
- WorldsHealthiestFoods.org: Broccoli, steamed In-depth nutrient analysis
- PubMed.gov: Influence of temperature and ontogeny on the levels of glucosinolates in broccoli (Brassica oleracea Var. italica) sprouts and their effect on the induction of mammalian phase 2 enzymes
- PubMed.gov: Broccoli sprouts: an exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens
- PubMed.gov: Chemoprotective glucosinolates and isothiocyanates of broccoli sprouts: metabolism and excretion in humans
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