Health Benefits of

Cruciferous Vegetables
Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Heli Roy, PhD

Shanna Lundy, BS
Phillip Brantley, PhD, Director

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 Cruciferous vegetables:
What are they?

• The cruciferae are the family of plants that include the various familiar
members of the species Brassica oleracea.

• Examples include: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, Brussels

sprouts in the US.

• Other examples widely consumed outside of the US include: Oriental

cabbage, arugula, watercress, radish, daikon, wassabi, and various
mustards.

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• A striking and characteristic chemical property of cruciferous plants
is their high content of glucosinolates.

• Glucosinolates and their isothiocyanate hydrolysis (breakdown)

products are well-known protectors against carcinogenesis,
suggesting that greater intakes of these vegetables may lower the
risk of several types of cancer.

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 The Unusual Phytochemistry of
Crucifers
• Glucosinolates are the precursors of isothiocyanates (mustard oils).
• Glucosinolates play protective and evolutionarily important roles in
plants, including:
• Allelopathy
• Suppression of growth of neighboring plants
• Specific positive and negative feeding cues
• For some insects
• Broad antibiotic properties
• Including nematocidal, antimicrobial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and insecticidal
activities

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 In humans?
• When food is prepared or chewed, or in
response to plant injury by predators, the
enzyme myrosinase which accompanies
the glucosinolates is released.
• This is the enzyme responsible for
hydrolyzing glucosinolates to
isothiocynates.
• In the absence of myrosinase (when food
is cooked and myrosinase is heat
inactivated), humans have the ability to
efficiently convert glucosinolates to
isothiocynates through the action of
microflora in the GI tract.
Cabbage worm
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 Overview

Conversion of Glucosinolates to
Isothiocyanates by Plant Myrosinase.

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 Overview
• At least 120 chemically distinct glucosinolates have
been identified in plants..
• Although the majority have been isolated from
crucifers, 15 other families of plants are known to
contain glucosinolates.
• The other families do include many edible species;
however, they are uncommon to the Western world and
are thought to contribute little to our diets.
• Although only few attempts have been made to assess
human glucosinolate consumption, some estimates are
as high as 300 mg/d (~660 µmol/d).

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 Chemoprotective effects of
isothiocyanates and glucosinolates
• Since the early 1960s, both natural and synthetic
isothiocyanates have attracted considerable and
growing attention as important and effective
protectors against chemical carcinogenesis in a
number of animal models.

• Even though only a few glucosinolates have been

examined (largely because adequate quantities of
these compounds have been unavailable), some
appear to be very effective in inhibiting
carcinogenesis.

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 History
• The history of these developments can be traced from
the comprehensive review by Hecht and colleagues in
which their work involved the NNK, which is probably
the most prominent carcinogen derived from
cigarettes..

• Several isothiocyanates inhibit the action of this

carcinogen (NNK) through inhibition of its metabolism.

Hecht, SS. Chemoprevention of Cancer by Isothiocyanates, Modifiers

of Carcinogen Metabolism. J. Nutr. 129: 768S–774S, 1999.

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 Evidence
Of the inverse association between crucifer consumption and cancer

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 Bladder Cancer

• Michaud and colleagues analyzed 252 cases of bladder cancer that

developed in 47,909 health professionals during a 10-y period.

• No significant associations were found bladder cancer and the

consumption of:
• Total fruits and vegetables
• Fruits only
• Vegetables only
• Or yellow or green leafy vegetables

• However, the multivariate risk reduction (RR) ratio

for cruciferous vegetables was highly significant.
Michaud DS, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of bladder cancer in a male prospective cohort.
J Natl Cancer Institute 91(7): 605-613, 1999.
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 Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of
bladder cancer in a male prospective cohort

Relative Risk P-value

Fruits and vegetables 0.75 0.25
Fruits 1.12 0.68
Vegetables 0.72 0.09
Yellow vegetables 1.01 0.50
Green leafy vegetables 0.99 0.81
Cruciferous vegetables 0.49 0.008

* The only significant reduction in relative risk

was observed with cruciferous vegetables.

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• In the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, bladder cancer was
only weakly associated with low intake of fruits and vegetables, but
high intake (5 or more servings/week versus 1 or less
servings/week) of cruciferous vegetables was associated with a
statistically significant 51% decrease in bladder cancer.

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 Prostate cancer
• Cohen et al. examined the relationship between fruit and vegetable
consumption and prostate cancer incidence in men <65 y of age.
• High fruit consumption showed no effect on prostate cancer incidence.
• High overall vegetable consumption was associated with reduced risk.
• However, cruciferous vegetables were clearly protective when risk was
adjusted for total vegetable consumption and other variables.

Cohen JH et al. Fruit and vegetable intakes and prostate cancer.

J Natl Cancer Institute 92(1): 61-68, 2000.

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• Also, prostate cancer risk was found to be reduced by
cruciferous vegetable consumption in a population-
based case-control study carried out in western
Washington state.

• Three or more servings per week, compared to less

than one serving of cruciferous vegetables per week
resulted in a statistically significant 41% decrease in
prostate cancer risk.

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 Breast cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• A case-controlled study in China found that intake of cruciferous
vegetables, measured by urinary secretion of isothiocyanates,
was inversely related to the risk of breast cancer.
• The quartile with the highest intake had only 50%
of the risk of the lowest intake group

• In the Nurses’ Health Study, a high intake of cruciferous

vegetables (5 or more servings/week versus less than two
servings/week) was associated with a 33% lower risk of
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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 Conclusions…
• There is much evidence in regards to cruciferous
vegetables and their role in the now widely
recognized protective effects of vegetables against
the risk of cancer.

• Much research has been done on the unusual

phytochemicals known as glucosinolates found in
cruciferous vegetables and their hydrolysis products,
the isothiocyanates.

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 Conclusions…

• The isothiocyanates have already been established as playing a role in

modulating the activities of enzymes involved in the metabolism of
carcinogens, especially by the induction of phase 2 detoxification
enzymes.

• With time, a better understanding of the dynamic role that fruits and
vegetables, in particular the cruciferous vegetables play in health
and disease, will be uncovered.

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 References
• Donaldson M. Nutrition Journal. 2004. Nutrition and cancer: a review of the
evidence for an anti-cancer diet. -
• Talalay P, Fahey J. Phytochemicals from cruciferous plants protect against
cancer by modulating carcinogen metabolism. Journal of Nutrition. 2001.
• Hecht, SS. Chemoprevention of Cancer by Isothiocyanates, Modifiers of
Carcinogen Metabolism. J. Nutr. 129: 768S–774S, 1999.
• Michaud DS, et al. Fruit and vegetable intake and incidence of bladder cancer in
a male prospective cohort. J Natl Cancer Institute 91(7): 605-613, 1999.
• Cohen JH et al. Fruit and vegetable intakes and prostate cancer. J Natl Cancer
Institute 92(1): 61-68, 2000.

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