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Effect of broccoli sprout extract and baseline gut microbiota on fasting blood glucose in prediabetes: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Chinmay Dwibedi, Annika S Axelsson, Birgitta Abrahamsson, Jed W Fahey, Olof Asplund, Ola Hansson, Emma Ahlqvist, Valentina Tremaroli, Fredrik Bäckhed, Anders H Rosengren
Nature Microbiology 2025 10(3):681-693

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 39929977
PubMed Central
PMC11879859
DOI
10.1038/s41564-025-01932-w
Funding
Supported by European Research Council Horizon 2020 grant TRANSLATIONAL 866510, Lantmännen Research Foundation 2017H015, Swedish Research Council grants 2022-01301 and 2019-01599, and Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation support via the Wallenberg Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine. Lantmännen provided broccoli sprout extract and placebo and co-financed the study; funders had no role in study conduct or data interpretation.
Competing interests
Annika S. Axelsson and Anders H. Rosengren were inventors on patents covering sulforaphane for exaggerated hepatic glucose production, licensed to Optisan AB; Rosengren owned Optisan stock. Lantmännen provided study material and co-financed the trial. Other disclosed interests included company ownership/advisory relationships for V. Tremaroli, F. Bäckhed and J.W. Fahey. The paper states Optisan and Lantmännen had no influence on procedures, analysis or interpretation.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
ModelDrug-naive adults with prediabetes
Sample74 randomized; 35 broccoli sprout extract and 39 placebo
InterventionBroccoli sprout extract once daily versus placebo.
Duration12 weeks
EndpointsFasting blood glucose; Prespecified 0.3 mmol/L glucose reduction target; Exploratory responder phenotypes; Baseline gut microbiota; Gastrointestinal adverse effects

What the study showed, in plain terms

Broccoli sprout extract did not meet the trial's prespecified primary glucose-reduction target in the overall prediabetes population. Exploratory analyses suggested a larger response in a metabolic subgroup with distinct baseline characteristics and microbiota.

Key findings

The prespecified primary outcome was not met. The overall fasting-glucose difference was modest; exploratory subgroup analyses identified larger reductions among participants with a particular metabolic phenotype.

What this study can and cannot tell us

The more pronounced responder effect was exploratory and subgroup-defined, so it requires prospective validation before being used for treatment selection.

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