In this video, Katherine Ververis (Epigenomic Medicine, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute), demonstrates how to extract nutrients from the...
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In this video, Katherine Ververis (Epigenomic Medicine, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute), demonstrates how to extract nutrients from the florets of broccoli. We investigate the effects of broccoli extract on the viability on human erythroleukemic K562 cells.
Broccoli evolved ~2000 years ago from a wild cabbage plant in Europe and since the Roman Empire it has been considered a uniquely valuable food among Italians. The word broccoli, is derived from the Italian plural of broccolo, which means "the flowering top of a cabbage". It is classified in the Italica cultivar group of the species Brassica oleracea and most closely resembles cauliflower, which is a different cultivar group of the same species. Broccoli contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties, such as diindolylmethane and small amounts of selenium. The 3,3'-diindolylmethane found in broccoli is a potent modulator of the innate immune response system with anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activity. Broccoli also contains the compound glucoraphanin, which can be processed into an anti-cancer compound sulforaphane. Broccoli is also an excellent source of indole-3-carbinol, a chemical which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears to block the growth of cancer cells.
