Broccoli sprouts may prevent stomach cancer: Study

Eating three-day-old broccoli sprouts can suppress a bacteria linked to stomach cancer, gastritis and ulcers, a new study claims.

Regular intake of 70 grams of three-day-old broccoli sprouts suppressed Helicobacter pylori (H. Pylori) infections, according to a study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, US.

H. Pylori infections are one of the most common stomach infections affecting people globally and are a major cause of stomach cancer.

"Broccoli has recently entered the public awareness as a preventive dietary agent. This study supports the emerging evidence that broccoli sprouts may be able to prevent cancer in humans, not just in lab animals," said Jed Fahey, a faculty research associate in the Department of Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

In this study, researchers enrolled 48 Helicobacter infected Japanese men and women and randomly assigned them to eat 70 grams of fresh broccoli sprouts daily for eight weeks or an equivalent amount of alfalfa sprouts.

Researchers assessed the severity of H. Pylori infection at enrolment, and again at four and eight weeks using standard breath, serum and stool tests.

H. Pylori levels were significantly lower at eight weeks on all three measures among those patients who had eaten broccoli sprouts, while they remained the same for patients who had eaten alfalfa sprouts.