Broccoli tegen huidkanker.*

Uit een studie met muizen blijkt dat een extract van broccolispruiten de kans op huidkanker flink kan verminderen. In dit onderzoek werden de muizen bloot gesteld aan UV licht en nadien ingesmeerd met het extract. 

Broccoli Sprout-extract Protects Against Skin Cancer from UV Light in High-risk Mice
Eat it or wear it? That is the question.
If you ask Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, she will likely answer "both."
In the laboratory of Paul Talalay, M.D., who first reported the indirect antioxidant properties of sulforaphane, the compound derived from cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Dinkova-Kostova and her colleagues applied broccoli sprout extract to the skin of hairless mice, and found it counteracted the carcinogenic response to ultraviolet light exposure.
Mice from a strain characterized by post-weaning hair loss were exposed to a dose of UV light comparable to what a person would get sunbathing at the beach on a clear day, twice a week for 20 weeks. After irradiation, broccoli sprout extracts containing either a low or high dose of sulforaphane were applied to the backs of the mice, five days a week for 11 weeks. Acetone (known commonly as the ingredient in nail polish remover) was used as the vehicle for delivering the sulforaphane, and it alone was applied on the control group. At the conclusion of the study period, 100 percent of the control mice had developed cancerous skin tumors.
The incidence and number of tumors was reduced by half, however, in the mice receiving the high dose of broccoli sprout extract. The rate of tumor reduction was less among the low-dose recipients, but even in their case, some benefit was observed.
"We weren't looking for a sunscreen effect," Dinkova-Kostova is quick to point out. "The sulforaphane-containing extract was applied after the period of regular exposure to ultra-violet light. That's more relevant, since most people receive some sun damage to their skin in childhood, particularly adults who grew up before effective sunscreen lotions were developed."
Previous research has shown that sulforaphane boosts protective and detoxifying reactions in cells, inactivating carcinogens and reactive oxygen intermediates that contribute to the disease by damaging DNA. As in other studies involving the anti-cancer potential of sulforaphane, Dinkova-Kostova's group notes that broccoli sprouts contain much more of the compound than adult broccoli.
"Our findings suggest a promising strategy for skin cancer prevention after exposure to UV light," Dinkova-Kostova said. Sulforaphane-Containing Broccoli Sprout Extracts Protect against UV-Light-Induced Skin Carcinogenesis in SKH-1 High-Risk Mice
Abstract # 2597, Albena Dinkova-Kostova, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
Poster Session A. 5:30 p.m., Monday, October 31, 2005. (Opm. Vermoedelijk zal het eten van broccolispruiten een vergelijkbaar effect hebben)