May , 2020, Volume : 1 Article : 14
Broccoli: A potential functional food
Author : Kumari Shubha, Reetu, Shreya Anand and Anirban Mukherjee
Broccoli is one of the important sources of important natural and cheap source of functional food. Optimisation of composition of fruits and vegetables would be a very cost-effective method of disease prevention. Broccoli is an excellent dietary source of phytochemicals such as glucosinolates, phenolics and other antioxidants like vitamins (A, B, C, K ) as well as dietary essential minerals (Cu, P, S, K, Fe, I,) etc. This article provides brief about the Phytochemical health-promoting compounds in broccoli.
With the increasing trends of life threatening diseases due to changes in lifestyle, demand for functional foods are increasing globally. It fights against various physiological threats like oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease, cancer and immune dysfunction. Functional foods are fall under this category of natural product and defined as foods that, by virtue of physiologically active components, provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition. Fruits and vegetables are one of the most important natural and cheap sources of functional food (Clydesdale, 1999). Optimisation of composition of fruits and vegetables would be a very cost-effective method of disease prevention, since diet-induced health improvements would not carry any added costs (Brandt et al., 2004). Documented and familiar source of potentially health promoting compounds, which are currently under study in many research include organosulphur compounds (glucosinolates and their degradation products) from Broccoli. Broccoli (Brassica oleraceae var. italica Plenk) belongs to a family called cruciferae and its close relatives include brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, knolkhol and kale. Broccoli is an Italian word from Latin ‘Brachium’ meaning an arm or branch. It was developed from wild cabbage during Roman times, and was enjoyed immensely by the Romans. Broccoli was introduced to the United States during colonial times, but did not gain popularity until the 1920’s. Further due to its unique nutritive properties, its cultivation gain momentum in whole world as well as India.
Phytochemical health-promoting compounds in broccoli
The belief underlying “functional foods” is that the bioactive components (in the food) are effective for the improvement of health. Broccoli is an excellent dietary source of phytochemicals including glucosinolates (and glucosinolate breakdown products) phenolics and other antioxidants like vitamins (A, B, C, K ), as well as dietary essential minerals (Cu, P, S, K, Fe, I, etc.) See the cover photo.
Beside these, broccoli contains glucosinolates (GLS), the metabolic breakdown products of which are potent modulators of xenobiotic-metabolising enzymes that protect DNA from damage. This protective effect has been linked to the presence of glucosinolates in these Brassica vegetables (Lund., 2003). It also contains polyphenols e.g kaempferol, quercetin and traces of isorhamnetin. Some important glucosinolates and other health benefit product of broccoli are given below:
1. In vitro and in vivo studies have reported that isothiocyanates
affect many steps of cancer development, including modulation of phases I and II detoxification enzymes (Fahey., 2001).
2. The most characterized GLS compounds are sulphoraphane, phenethyl isothiocyanate, allyl isothiocyanate and indole-3-carbinol, but many other isothiocyanates that are present in lower quantities may also contribute to the anti-carcinogenic properties of crucifers.
3. Sulphoraphane induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells and antiproliferative effects of sulphoraphane is also reported in human breast cancer (Murillo.,2001).
4. Isothiocyanates is a another GLS from broccoli have antioxidant capacity, cholesterol lowering effects, protective property on cardiovascular disease (Sesso et al.,2003) and Helicobacter pylori infections.
5. Vitamin K (phylloquinone) a-fat-soluble vitamin that functions as a coenzyme and is involved in blood clotting and bone metabolism, also found in broccoli (contain >100 g phylloquinone/100g vegetable, either raw or cooked) (Damon., 2005)
6. Selenium is an important mineral for proper functioning of immune system and also have anti cancerous property and broccoli is known for its ability to accumulate high levels of Selenium in the form of semethylselenocysteine.
7. Broccoli is an excellent source of chromium, a trace mineral which is known to lower blood sugar. If a person’s blood sugar is on border line, chromium can help control it.
8. Broccoli is a good vegetable source of Ca and Mg and studies have shown that people that consume limited amounts of dairy products, and its head mineral concentration has significant environmental influence.
9. Broccoli also contain polyphenols e.g kaempferol, quercetin and traces of isorhamnetin (Moreno et al.,2006).
However, glucosinolate breakdown products, oxazolidine-2-thiones is responsible for thyroid abnormalities associated with cole crops.
Bioavailability of broccoli phytochemical compounds
Functional foods are known for its pharmacological properties rather than providing calories and essential nutrients. Nature and extent of worth of a functional food is depends upon its bioavailability. Bioavailable” nutrient or Bio-nutrient, describe as the fraction of ingested nutrient used to meet functional demand in target tissues with an active effect. Glucosinolates coexist with myrosinase in the plant. Evidence suggests that when plant myrosinase (enzyme to hydrolyse glucosinolate) is available in diet, glucosinolates are rapidly hydrolysed in the proximal gut (Moreno et al., 2006). If myrosinase is not present in diet due to deactivation by cooking the vegetables prior to consumption, the ionised nature of glucosinolates may be expected to enable them to reach the distal gut where they could be metabolised by bacterial enzymes (Bruckner., 2005).
Therefore broccoli should be consumed on regular basis during the available season. One serving of broccoli contains near about 80-100 gms which contributes a good amount of Vitamin C (1.5 times of daily requirements), Vitamin A (21 per cent of daily requirements), 16% of folates, Vitamin B, Vitamin K along with these iron, manganese, potassium, copper etc.
References
Brandt, K., Christensen, L. P., Hansen-Møller, J., Hansen, S. L., Haraldsdottir, J., Jespersen, L., ... & Kobæk-Larsen, M. (2004). Health promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits: A systematic approach for identifying plant components with impact on human health. Trends in food science & technology, 15(7-8), 384-393.
Clydesdale, F. M. (1999). ILSI North America Technical Committee on Food Components for Health Promotion. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 39(3), 203-316.
Lund.E. (2003). Non-nutritive bioactive constituents of plants: dietary sources and health benefits of glucosinolates. International journal for vitamin and nutrition research, 73(2), 135-143.
Fahey, J. W., Zalcmann, A. T., & Talalay, P. (2001). The chemical diversity and distribution of glucosinolates and isothiocyanates among plants. Phytochemistry, 56(1), 5-51.
Murillo, G., & Mehta, R. G. (2001). Cruciferous vegetables and cancer prevention. Nutrition and cancer, 41(1-2), 17-28.
Sesso, H. D., Gaziano, J. M., Liu, S., & Buring, J. E. (2003). Flavonoid intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease in women. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 77(6), 1400-1408.
Damon, M., Zhang, N. Z., Haytowitz, D. B., & Booth, S. L. (2005). Phylloquinone (vitamin K1) content of vegetables. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 18(8), 751-758.
Moreno, D. A., Carvajal, M., López-Berenguer, C., & García-Viguera, C. (2006). Chemical and biological characterisation of nutraceutical compounds of broccoli. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis, 41(5), 1508-1522.
Brückner, B., Schonhof, I., Kornelson, C., & Schrödter, R. (2005). Multivariate Sensory Profile Of Broccoli And Cauliflower And Consumer Preference. Italian journal of food science, 17(1).
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