83 replies to this topic

[nittybitty]

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21816223

Most of the broccoli sprout supplements currently available are not clinically bioactive. The extraction process used in products such as BroccoMax from Jarrow destroys/renders the myrosinase enzyme inactive (this enzyme seems pretty magical and important).

Evidently, the often praised, highly regarded Jarrow has a misleading label: "providing 30 mg sulforaphane glucosinolate". This is supposedly very different than
30mg of sulforaphane, (which has the myrosinase enzyme).

See also:
http://www.nutraingr...still-effective

http://www.nutraingr...-benefits-Study

http://www.nutraingr...ents-says-study

Finding a supplement with this enzyme active is basically impossible. The only one I could find is EnduraCell but there is another product called BroccoPhane (Swanson's and others use it in their products) which has 4 mcg of Sulforaphane which is .4 milligrams. No idea if the myrosinase enzyme is active in this product or not but that seems like a tiny amount of Sulforaphane. There is also a product called BroccoPlus and BroccoSinolate made by the same company; these seem to be older products and no longer in use.

In closing, it seems the elusive EnduraCell is the only supplier with an active myrosinase enzyme. Good luck finding it unless you live in Australia.

Edited by nittybitty, 12 July 2012 - 07:09 AM.

[Kevnzworld]

The study said that the pills produced reduced levels as compared to the sprouts, not none at all. Remember, these are supplements, not replacements. One should always opt for whole , live food when possible. I'm not going to eat a pile of broccoli sprouts daily, but I will add them to a salad when I can.
Many people, including me, take broccoli supplements that also contain I3C, and DIM which are considered important.
There was no mention of cruciferous vegetable soups, so I don't know why that was thrown in.

Edited by Kevnzworld, 12 July 2012 - 05:51 PM.

[nittybitty]

Without the enzyme, the absorption rate of these metabolites is 5x lower or more. I buy a lot of Jarrow products, but their label is very misleading on this particular product. These studies did find some synergy when taking the supplements with real sprouts. I take the New Chapter BroccoLive product which uses "flash freeze-drying" -- whatever that means.

The LEF product is also made from an extract.

Here is a link to the EnduraCell product (currently sold out) if anyone cares:
http://www.enduracel...lus-60-capsules

[nittybitty]

Here is a really good Q & A on sulforaphane and the myrosinase enzyme:

http://www.cynthia-t...F_012510[1].pdf

[nittybitty]

More great info on this issue:
http://www.linkedin....4664.S.92318121

[hamishm00]

The sulphoraphane content in raw Broccoli sprout is 1153 mg/100 g

What about freeze dried sprouts, like this one:

http://www.iherb.com/Eclectic-Institute-Whole-Broccoli-Sprouts-270-mg-150-Veggie-Caps/42160

[nittybitty]

hamishm00, not familiar with that brand but everything I've read says that using the entire sprout, instead of an extract is very important because the extraction process destroys the myrosinase enzyme.

New Chapter claims to flash freeze as well, but it is not clear if they are using an extract or the whole seed. Jarrow clearly states "seed extract" on the bottle - with New Chapter, who the knows. The LEF product is actually called "Triple Action Cruciferous Vegetable Extract".

Edited by nittybitty, 18 July 2012 - 06:26 PM.

[ChristineH]

Sulforaphane research is my area of specialty. I see this thread is now over a year old and many members may have moved on. However, I'd like to comment on a few issues related to this topic. There is no such food or supplement which actually contains sulforaphane (SFN). The SFN is produced when the plant is chopped or chewed so that inert precursor compound, glucoraphanin can react with the compartmentalised myrosinase enzyme. When trying to determine if a product is likely to be worth taking, be wary of those which claim to contain sulforaphane - either the manufacturer is ignorant of the facts or he is deliberately misleading consumers. Any product claiming to contain 'sulforaphane glucosinolate' simply contains the precursor compound, glucoraphanin and no myrosinase enzyme. 'Sulforaphane glucosinolate' is a slick marketing term - it is not a scientific term. This applies typically to the products made from seed extracts. To produce an extract, the myrosinase enzyme is deactivated. Any product using broccoli to produce an 'extract' will be inert! I see reference earlier to a product containing 0.4 mg SFN. This is about 1/10 of a starting dose for any clinical effect. I-3-C and DIM are no substitute for sulforaphane and some studies caution against these because they are bifunctional inducers of the Detoxification enzymes, whereas SFN is a monofunctional inducer which upregulates Phase 2 detoxification pathways but not simultaneously affecting Phase 1 pathways; this is one of the key reasons for its anticarcinogenic properties.There iSFN is produced whe so that . Any , whereas 1 pathwat

[balance]

Sulforaphane research is my area of specialty. I see reference earlier to a product containing 0.4 mg SFN. This is about 1/10 of a starting dose for any clinical effect. I-3-C and DIM are no substitute for sulforaphane and some studies caution against these because they are bifunctional inducers of the Detoxification enzymes, whereas SFN is a monofunctional inducer which upregulates Phase 2 detoxification pathways but not simultaneously affecting Phase 1 pathways; this is one of the key reasons for its anticarcinogenic properties.There iSFN is produced whe so that . Any , whereas 1 pathwat

Thanks for your post ChristineH, but what does this leave us with as for supplement recommendations, or are there basically none? I had stumbled upon this same issue around 2 years ago and figured all supplements I could find to be useless in terms of potency. I'm curious if we got something proper now in late 2013.

[Climactic]

There iSFN is produced whe so that . Any , whereas 1 pathwat

The post is prematurely truncated.

[timar]

Thanks for your post ChristineH, but what does this leave us with as for supplement recommendations, or are there basically none?

It's probably the best idea to grow your own broccoli sprouts (which just as simple as growing cress). At least this is what the researchers from the Heidelberg Cancer Research Center recommend. As an alternative, they also recommend some specific supplement products. I would be surprised if those recommended products contained no adequate amounts sulphoraphane or glucoraphanin, respectively. After all it is one of the world's leading government-funded research groups on brassica compunds in cancer therapy.

Edited by timar, 21 November 2013 - 03:01 PM.

[ChristineH]

Interestingly, the German reference cited by piet3r is disappointing in that they haven't identified the fact that broccoli sprout 'extracts' are devoid of myrosinase and so the products they suggest will not yield sulforaphane. Any product listed as containing 'sulforaphane glucosinolate' is an extract from broccoli seed (not sprouts) but in the extraction process, the myrosinase enzyme is inactivated. Consequently, what the product contains is the precursor compound, glucoraphanin alone - it does not generate sulforaphane on ingestion. Unfortunately, 'sulforaphane glucosinolate' is a slick marketing term which lures the reader in to thinking the product is a source of sulforaphane; it is not! The majority of broccoli sprout products available in the U.S. are of this form. If you read the 2011 paper by John Clarke entitled "Bioavailability and interconversion of erucin....", you will see that he identifies the issue and even names a popular supplement brand as being inactive. The fresh sprouts are certainly an option but the quality of the seed stock has been shown to vary by up to 40-fold and so you don't know if you are buying seeds which are high or low in glucoraphanin and the myrosinase enzyme. The other factor is that the fresh sprout contains an inhibitor, Epithiospecifier protein (ESP) which inhibits the myrosinase enzyme activity up to 75%, meaning you wont be able to convert most of the glucoraphanin to active sulforaphane. All the other nutritional benefits of fresh green plants will be present but an undetermined quantity of sulforaphane will be produced. You asked if there is a commercially-available supplement which is myrosinase active, so at this point I have to declare a commercial interest because my research over the past few years has enabled me to produce an encapsulated product which yields sulforaphane on ingestion. I wont name the product on this site but you can probably find it by Googling "100% whole broccoli sprout powder".

[ChristineH]

Also worth noting that there are no clinical trials using the available 'sulforaphane glucosinolate' supplements. All the trials with the impressive findings are on either fresh sprouts (typically 70-100 grams per day) or other forms wherein the myrosinase is available. Unfortunately, the manufacturers of the inactive supplements quote the sulforaphane research as if it were the same thing; it is not and millions of people globally (clinicians as well as consumers) are being fooled into thinking they have purchased a product which will deliver sulforaphane on ingestion. If you push them hard enough, they will justify their position by saying that the gut microflora can convert the glucoraphanin to sulforaphane. Although there is an element of truth in this in some people in some situations, the effect is unpredictable and minimal. To know more, search PubMed for my recent Review paper on Sulforaphane.

[balance]

Interestingly, the German reference cited by piet3r is disappointing in that they haven't identified the fact that broccoli sprout 'extracts' are devoid of myrosinase and so the products they suggest will not yield sulforaphane. ".

Correction, cited by timar. I didn't cite anything.

But thanks very much for your info. Guess the supplements are out for the moment..

Edited by piet3r, 23 November 2013 - 06:32 AM.

[ChristineH]

If you Google "100% whole broccoli sprout powder", you will find both powder and capsules of myrosinase-active material.

[rubegoldberg]

Could one not supplement myrosinase? e.g. white mustard (Sinapis alba), [10] garden cress (Lepidium sativum),[19] wasabi (Wasabia japonica),[20] daikon (Raphanus sativus).

However, note warning on iodine uptake from the same wiki page and possible thyroid disfunction.

Perhaps one can take Broccoli Supplements with myrosinase bearing supplement, and take an iodine bearing supplement away from it.

[hav]

Here's an interesting study on the ability of specific gut bacteria to metabolize glucosinolates into isothiocyanates:

The metabolism of methylsulfinylalkyl- and methylthioalkyl-glucosinolates by a selection of human gut bacteria.

Lactobacillus agilis R16 metabolized only 10% of glucoiberin and glucoraphanin with no detectable products. Enterococcus casseliflavus CP1, however, metabolized 40-50% of glucoiberin and glucoraphanin producing relatively low concentrations of iberin and sulforaphane. Interestingly, Escherichia coli VL8 metabolized 80-90% of glucoiberin and glucoraphanin and also bioconverted glucoraphanin and glucoiberin to glucoerucin and glucoiberverin, respectively, producing erucin, erucin NIT, iberverin, and iberverin NIT from the two GSLs. The putative reductase enzyme in the cell-free extracts of this bacterium required both Mg²⁺ and NAD(P)H as cofactors for bioconversion. The cell-free extract of E. coli VL8 containing the reductase enzyme was able to reduce both the GSL glucoraphanin and its hydrolysis product sulforaphane to glucoerucin and erucin/erucin NIT, respectively.

E. coli is a surprise. I assume VL8 is a "good" strain. Makes me wonder if any probiotics might be synergistic.

Howard

[hav]

Could one not supplement myrosinase? e.g. white mustard (Sinapis alba), [10] garden cress (Lepidium sativum),[19] wasabi (Wasabia japonica),[20] daikon (Raphanus sativus).

Found a study on daikon radishes that says eating them after eating deactivated frozen broccoli will reactivate it. The researcher also followed up with a press release that went on to say adding other things will also work:

Mustard, radish, arugula, wasabi and other uncooked cruciferous vegetables such as cole slaw all contain myrosinase, and we’ve seen this can restore the formation of sulforaphane.

I'm also wondering about the possible significance of magnesium supplementation. I noticed it was mentioned as important in the gut bacteria study. But overlooked in the human study that found unexplained variation from person to person in ability to do the conversion solely with gut bacteria; maybe that was due to low magnesium levels in the poor performers.

Howard

[ChristineH]

Could one not supplement myrosinase? e.g. white mustard (Sinapis alba), [10] garden cress (Lepidium sativum),[19] wasabi (Wasabia japonica),[20] daikon (Raphanus sativus).

However, note warning on iodine uptake from the same wiki page and possible thyroid disfunction.

Perhaps one can take Broccoli Supplements with myrosinase bearing supplement, and take an iodine bearing supplement away from it.

You could do that if you have a high glucoraphanin broccoli sprout which is low in the inhibitor, Epithiospecifier protein. BTW, you don't need to be concerned about the iodine with the broccoli sprouts as they do not contain the goitrogens found in the mature broccoli vegetable.

[APBT]

You could do that if you have a high glucoraphanin broccoli sprout which is low in the inhibitor, Epithiospecifier protein.

Christine
Would you please provide links to sources where one could purchase broccoli sprout seeds that meet your aforementioned criteria; as I like to grow my own sprouts. Thanks.

[ChristineH]

You could do that if you have a high glucoraphanin broccoli sprout which is low in the inhibitor, Epithiospecifier protein.

Christine
Would you please provide links to sources where one could purchase broccoli sprout seeds that meet your aforementioned criteria; as I like to grow my own sprouts. Thanks.

Unfortunately, I can't provide you with a link as commerical suppliers only work in multiples of ton lots. The seed which is grown for consumer purchase is not assayed for bioactives (as far as I am aware) and so a consumer has no way of knowing.

[hav]

Would you please provide links to sources where one could purchase broccoli sprout seeds that meet your aforementioned criteria; as I like to grow my own sprouts. Thanks.

Didn't look very hard but I found one pretty quickly. It was mentioned in this study as the source of the material they used:

Following extensive screening for glucoraphanin content, broccoli seeds (Brassica oleracea L., Italica Group; lot BR0302 of a cultivar Marathon-derived F2 hybrid; not treated with pesticides or dyes) were purchased from Caudill Seed Co. (Louisville, KY) and delivered to the study site. Forty-five kilograms of seeds were surface-disinfested according to standard practices for commercial green sprout growers (29). Briefly, seeds were contacted with 2% (v/v) sodium hypochlorite prepared by appropriate dilution of commercial household bleach into tap water. Seeds and bleach were agitated periodically for 15 minutes, bleach was poured off, and seeds were thoroughly rinsed with running tap water for 2 hours. Seeds (∼40 kg remaining after rinsing loss) were then spread in thin layers over at total of 56 especially designed 14 × 22.5 × 1.5 in. sprouting trays (Green Valley Food Corp., Dallas, TX). Trays were stacked on carts at a slight inclination to allow water runoff and were maintained at ∼22 ± 2°C, illuminated with low-level ambient indoor filtered sunlight, and irrigated with tap water delivered from a spray nozzle at 1- to 2-hour intervals.

Generally, if you can access the full text of a study, it will usually document the materials and methods they used so that their results can be duplicated by other researchers. As Christine pointed out, there might be a substantial minimum order from these folks too. But its worth a shot.

Howard

[ChristineH]

Yes but that's one of the commercial suppliers. I think you will find that they only supply to industry in ton lots or so. The Kensler study you quote was done by a group which is affiliated with that seed supplier and so A relatively small quantity of 45kg for a clinical trial is a different situation from having an individual request a small supply. I suppose you could try.

[Adam Breen]

Hi all, after reading this thread, I went googling, and discovered Super Sprout (another Australian company). It appears they make a powder and capsule form of broccoli sprouts that they promise does indeed contain myrosinase and glucoraphanin in useful quantities.

This from their website:

• Enzyme activity is not destroyed by the Super Sprout production process
• Potential Sulforaphane levels are maximised by our agricultural harvesting processes and world class growing facilities
• High levels of Myrosinase and Glucoraphanin
• Proven enzyme activity providing a high conversion rate of Glucoraphanin producing an average yield of 0.7% Sulforaphane (i.e. more than 80% of the Glucoraphanin is converted to the active Sulforaphane)

I'd post their URL, except I'm brand new to Longecity Just google "supersprout" (it's a .AU website) and I'm sure you'll find it.

[DavidNYC]

Check out EnduraCell....I believe this is the product to which ChristineH was referring.

[blood]

Check out EnduraCell....I believe this is the product to which ChristineH was referring.

EnduraCell is Christine's company, and she has pimped it relentlessly on this forum.

[timar]

Btw., it's pretty simple to grow your own broccoli sprouts and they are delicious. They contain plenty of myrosinase as well

Edited by timar, 14 January 2014 - 11:36 PM.

[Adam Breen]

Hey Blood, thanks for the info. I had missed that Christine is the owner of Enduracell. Good to see commercialisation coming out of my home country!

[ChristineH]

Btw., it's pretty simple to grow your own broccoli sprouts and they are delicious. They contain plenty of myrosinase as well


But Timar if you look back one of my earlier posts, I mention the myrosinase inhibitor, ESP (epithiospecifier protein). This is most active in raw sprouts and can reduce the sulforaphane yield by 75-90%. So, yes you can grow your own and enjoy them as a food but if you need a standardised nutraceutical source of sulforaphane to modify specific biochemical pathways, the fresh sprouts are an unreliable source. And that's in addition to the fact that some seed varieties contain low levels of the glucoraphanin precursor.

[timar]

I agree that for cancer treatment, you want to take a nutraceutical that provides a standardized dose of sulforaphane.

For a generally cancer preventive lifestyle, however, I think that broccoli sprouts are sufficent and preferable to a supplement (for both economic and culinary reasons). They may provide variable amounts of sulforaphane but after all it is the pungent principle that is produced by myrosinase if the plant's tissue is injured by a herbivore. It's simply their defense system. If it wouldn't work, give or take ESP, it wouldn't have evolved. If there is that pungent taste upon chewing, there is sulforaphane. That's certainly good enough for me.

Edited by timar, 15 January 2014 - 11:45 AM.