The extract of broccoli sprouts and cruciferous vegetables in general promises to offer protection against oral cancers with a real "green chemo"
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They can i broccoli fight cancer? Of course. As well as the typical plant of Molise has jumped to the headlines for its anticancer properties, even thebroccoli sprout extract and, in general, of the cruciferous vegetables - recognized natural weapons also against breast cancer -, promises to offer protection against oral cancers with a real "green chemo". In short, once again it is from the natural world that the solution to cancer could come.
This time it was assumed that cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage e crescione), give her anticancer properties already recognized, they have a high concentration of sulforaphane, a natural molecule that helps reduce the effects of environmental carcinogens.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute looked at people who have recovered from head and neck cancer but still have a high risk of developing a tumor in the mouth or throat and they are developing that natural molecule found in cruciferous vegetables to protect the oral lining in which these tumors form.
Through various laboratory tests, the researchers found that sulforaphane greatly reduced the incidence and number of cancers. The scientists then treated 10 healthy volunteers with a fruit juice mixed with broccoli sprout extract, rich in sulforaphane. Volunteers reported no adverse effects and beneficial changes were found in the lining of the mouth, meaning that the at-risk tissue absorbed the substance directly.
"We call it 'green chemoprevention', in which simple seeds or plant extracts are prepared to prevent disease", explains Julie Bauman, who coordinated the study.
According to American researchers, such results are compelling enough to warrant one clinical trial in which 40 volunteers treated for head and neck cancer will be recruited.
Germana Carillo
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