ISHS Acta Horticulturae 939: XXVIII International Horticultural Congress on Science and Horticulture for People (IHC2010): International Symposium on Emerging Health Topics in Fruits and Vegetables
ENHANCING THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BROCCOLI - FROM CONCEPT TO COMMERCIALISATION |
| Author: | R.F. Mithen |
| Keywords: | broccoli, glucosinolates, sulforaphane, health benefits, marker-assisted breeding |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.939.3 |
| Abstract:
Many epidemiological studies have suggested that diets rich in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli can reduce the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease. These vegetables provide a diverse range of minerals, vitamins and poly-phenolic compounds in the diet in addition to organo-sulphur compounds, pre-dominantly glucosinolates and S-methylcysteine sulfoxide. In this paper, we describe a marker-assisted plant breeding programme to develop broccoli cultivars with enhanced levels of 4-methylsulphinylbutyl glucosinolate, the precursor of the bioactive isothiocyanate sulforaphane. Consuming high glucosinolate broccoli resulted in enhanced levels of sulforaphane in the systemic circulation compared to consuming standard broccoli. These new cultivars, being marketed under the name ‘Beneforte broccoli’ are currently being used within human intervention studies with people at enhanced risk of cardiovascular disease. | |
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