Plants belonging to Brassica family like cabbage and cauliflower have a potent chemical glucosinolates which can aid in cancer prevention. This chemical works very much like anti oxidants and can be used for cancer.
Research on this aspect is taking place across the globe and at present a feasible extraction method and thereby use in therapeutic nutrition is underway.These are a class of phytochemicals whose breakdown products are thought to be responsible for an improvement in health.
Glucosinolates (â-thioglucoside-N-hydroxysulfates) are a unique group of sulfur-containing plant secondary metabolites.
Epidemiological studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables such as cruciferous vegetables may reduce the risk of many types of cancers. In a recent epidemiological study investigating the relationship between bladder cancer incidence and total fruit and vegetable intake, no relationship was found between bladder cancer and total fruit, total fruit and vegetable, green leafy vegetable, or yellow vegetable intake.
However, an inverse relationship was found between bladder cancer risk and cruciferous vegetable intake.
Isothiocyanates and indoles, the breakdown products of glucosinolates, are believed to be the primary contributors of cruciferous vegetables’ chemopreventive effects via a variety of mechanisms.
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