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Dietary sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts reduce colonization and attenuate gastritis in Helicobacter pylori-infected mice and humans

Akinori Yanaka, Jed W Fahey, Atsushi Fukumoto, Mari Nakayama, Souta Inoue, Songhua Zhang, Masafumi Tauchi, Hideo Suzuki, Ichinosuke Hyodo, Masayuki Yamamoto
Cancer Prevention Research (Philadelphia) 2009 2(4):353-360

Bibliography

PubMed
PMID 19349290
DOI
10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-08-0192
Funding
Supported by Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research 17604002, the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Foundation, and the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Competing interests
Jed W. Fahey was a cofounder of Brassica Protection Products LLC, licensed by Johns Hopkins University to produce broccoli sprouts, and could receive royalty payments from broccoli-sprout sales. The paper states that no Brassica Protection Products funds supported the study.

Study snapshot

DesignRandomized controlled human feeding trial with complementary mouse experiments
ModelAdults infected with Helicobacter pylori
Sample48
Intervention70 g/day sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprouts containing approximately 420 µmol glucoraphanin precursor versus 70 g/day alfalfa sprouts
Duration8 weeks with two-month post-intervention follow-up
EndpointsUrea breath test; H. pylori stool antigen; Serum pepsinogen I; Serum pepsinogen II; Gastric inflammation biomarkers

What the study showed, in plain terms

In 48 people with H. pylori infection, eight weeks of broccoli sprouts reduced markers of bacterial colonization and gastric inflammation compared with alfalfa sprouts. The markers returned toward baseline after the intervention stopped, so this was not an eradication treatment.

Key findings

Broccoli sprouts decreased urea-breath-test values, stool-antigen levels and serum pepsinogen markers during the intervention. The effects were reversible after discontinuation, supporting a suppressive or host-response effect rather than proven eradication.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Small clinical sample, food intervention rather than a standardized supplement, biomarker/colonization outcomes and no durable eradication after stopping treatment. It should not be presented as an alternative to guideline-based H. pylori therapy.

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