Tier 1 — highest

Rapid and sustainable detoxication of airborne pollutants by broccoli sprout beverage: results of a randomized clinical trial in China

Patricia A Egner, Jian-Guo Chen, Adam T Zarth, Derek K Ng, Jin-Bing Wang, Kevin H Kensler, Lisa P Jacobson, Alvaro Muñoz, Jamie L Johnson, John D Groopman, Jed W Fahey, Paul Talalay, Jian Zhu, Tao-Yang Chen, Geng-Sun Qian, Steven G Carmella, Stephen S Hecht, Thomas W Kensler
Cancer Prevention Research 2014 7(8):813-823

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 24913818
PubMed Central
PMC4125483
DOI
10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-14-0103
Funding
Supported by NIH grants P01 ES006052 and P30 ES003819.
Competing interests
A. Muñoz disclosed consulting/advisory-board involvement with Pfizer; no potential conflicts were disclosed by the other authors.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized placebo-controlled clinical trial
ModelAdults living in a region with substantial airborne-pollutant exposure in Qidong, China
Sample291 participants
InterventionDaily broccoli sprout beverage providing 600 µmol glucoraphanin and 40 µmol sulforaphane versus placebo.
Duration12 weeks
EndpointsUrinary benzene mercapturic acid; Urinary acrolein mercapturic acid; Urinary crotonaldehyde mercapturic acid; Sulforaphane metabolites; Pollutant detoxication biomarkers

What the study showed, in plain terms

This large randomized trial tested whether a broccoli sprout beverage changes urinary excretion biomarkers of common airborne pollutants in adults exposed to substantial ambient pollution.

Key findings

Compared with placebo, the beverage increased urinary excretion of benzene-derived mercapturic acid by 61% and acrolein-derived mercapturic acid by 23%; the crotonaldehyde biomarker did not significantly change. Sulforaphane metabolite measurements suggested bioavailability was sustained over 12 weeks.

What this study can and cannot tell us

The outcomes were urinary exposure/detoxication biomarkers, not clinical disease endpoints. Increased excretion of pollutant metabolites should not be translated into claims that sulforaphane prevents pollution-related disease without direct outcome evidence.

Citation network

Articles citing this research paper

4 articles

Biohack Blueprint analyses that reference this study in their evidence base.

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction Dr. Amr Yasser, PhDCardiometabolic, Musculoskeletal, Gut & Bioavailability Dr. Abdulla Mostafa, PhDCellular Senescence, Neurological, Mitochondrial & Brain-Ageing Biology