Eating your greens is now even better for you

SUPER-BROCCOLI that packs an extra punch against cancer has been bred
from
ordinary broccoli and a scrawny wild Sicilian relative. Compared with
regular broccoli, it contains 10 times as much sulphoraphane, a
substance
that helps to neutralise cancer-causing substances in the gut.

"The super-broccoli looks and tastes the same as ordinary broccoli,"
says
Gary Williamson, head of the team at the Institute of Food Research in
Norwich that developed the souped-up version.

Sulphoraphane is found in all brassicas, including sprouts and
cauliflower.
But broccoli has the highest concentrations. When sulphoraphane is
released
in the gut by broccoli, it steps up production of glutathione
transferases--powerful enzymes that destroy cancer-causing substances
in
food, such as those found in heavily barbecued meat.

Williamson, who described the super-broccoli earlier this month at an
Institute of Food Research seminar in London, expects that people who
eat it
will produce even higher concentrations of glutathione transferases.
Trials
are due to begin soon in human volunteers, who will eat either
super-broccoli or ordinary broccoli. Williamson wants to see if the
superbroccoli boosts concentrations of glutathione transferases in gut
and
blood samples compared with ordinary broccoli. He also hopes to show
the
super-broccoli is better at protecting the DNA in cells from the
ravages of
time.

The super-broccoli, originally bred at the nearby John Innes Centre,
is
being developed with two commercial partners.

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news_224028.html