Newly Bred Broccoli Aids in Reducing Cholesterol

Vegetables such as crucifer crops are effective diet in blood LDL-cholesterol reductions preventing heart diseases. Glucoraphanin is a naturally occurring compound present in crucifers which aids in LDL-cholesterol reduction through the action of isothiocyanates. Broccoli is a crucifer crop bred to contain about two to three times higher levels of glucoraphanin.

The newly enriched broccoli is assessed for its efficiency by a group of researchers led by Dr. Richard F. Mithen from Institute of Food Research (IFR) and his colleagues from University of Reading. This was done by conducting two independent studies with over one hundred volunteers included 400 grams of broccoli either standard or enriched in their diets.

The result of the plasma lipid analysis reveals that volunteers consuming enriched broccoli gain a higher reduction in LDL-cholesterol by 7.1% and 5.7% in contrast with 1.8% and 2.5% reduction from consuming standard broccoli. This provides evidence on the efficiency of enriched broccoli to significantly reduce LDL-cholesterol.

Read the details of their study at IFR's website.