Researchers are claiming further health benefits from eating broccoli after a study found it can help prevent or slow the progress of bladder cancer.
Ohio State University researchers isolated phytochemicals called glucosinolates in broccoli that -- when chopped, chewed and digested -- turn into compounds called isothiocyanates that are believed to help fight cancer.
In lab tests, investigators found that isothiocyanates slowed the growth of bladder cancer cells. The isothiocyanates seemed to have the greatest impact on the most aggressive form of bladder cancer studied by the research team.
However, scientists do not know exactly how isothiocyanates prevent cancer cells from proliferating, but they are conducting more research.
Steven Clinton, study co-author, said: “There's no reason to believe that this is the only compound in broccoli that has an anti-cancer effect,
“There are at least a dozen interesting compounds in the vegetable. We're now studying more of those compounds to determine if they work together or independently, and what kind of effects they have on cancer cells," Clinton added.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists.
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