Another Reason to Get Your Vegetables

Topically applied broccoli sprout extract protected against UV light damage.

Recently, the public has shown great interest in the health benefits of dietary supplements and botanical compounds, including resveratrol (found in red wine and grapes), polyphenols (in green tea), and carotenoids. Now, researchers have tested the benefits of applying broccoli sprout extract to the skin for protection against ultraviolet light damage (some of the investigators have interests in the technology that produces the broccoli sprouts). The extract contains the compound sulforaphane, which increases the production of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, a potent antioxidant enzyme in skin.

After applying broccoli sprout extract to mouse skin daily for 3 days, researchers exposed the skin to 311-nm UV light. The pretreatment dramatically…

Reviewing Author

Craig A. Elmets, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board Astellas Pharmaceuticals

EquityVaxin

Grant / Research support NIH; NIH/NCI; Veteran’s Administration; Ferndale Laboratories; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Inc.

Editorial boards Cancer Prevention Research; Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, & Photomedicine; UpToDate; eMedicine; Journal of Dermatological Sciences; JAMA Dermatology

Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Vice Chair, Committee on Science and Research); Photomedicine Society (Board of Directors)