Effect of L. Plantarum Probiotic Supplementation on Broccoli Sulforaphane Bioavailability: Randomised Double-blind Placebo-controlled Crossover Study

NCT ID: NCT06561893

Last Updated: 2025-03-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 12 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-10-01
• Study Completion Date: 2026-01-31

Brief Summary

Broccoli has the precursor of an active compound (sulforaphane) that has shown a wide range of health promoting benefits. Sulforaphane formation depends on the conversion of glucoraphanin (precursor) by myrosinase enzyme. Thus, the bioavailability of sulforaphane is affected by myrosinase activity. Some bacteria, such as L. plantarum (probiotic), have shown they can also convert glucoraphanin to sulforaphane in vitro. This study investigates the effect of short-term L. plantarum supplementation on broccoli sulforaphane bioavailability in humans using a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial.

Detailed Description

Brassicas (i.e. broccoli, kale, cabbage) are a group of edible plants that contain a phytochemical called glucoraphanin that upon enzymatic hydrolysis forms the bioactive form sulforaphane. Sulforaphane has shown consistent in vitro and in vivo (animals) anti-cancer activity. The enzyme responsible for this conversion is called myrosinase; however, the enzymatic activity of myrosinase can be affected by several biological factors (e.g. plant variety, growth conditions, etc...) and food processing (e.g. cooking, drying, etc...). Broccoli is one of the richest sources of glucoraphanin, but its myrosinase activity can be easily lost during cooking: 10 minutes at 70 °C reduces the enzyme activity by 95%. This means broccoli prepared this way will contain little to no biologically active sulforaphane. Therefore, is important to find strategies to increase the bioavailability of sulforaphane in broccoli and other brassicas for human consumption.

Certain bacteria have shown myrosinase-like activity and were able to convert glucoraphanin to sulforaphane in vitro, one of these bacteria is Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. This bacterium is present in the human gut, however, there is a large biological variability in the prevalence of this bacteria between individuals. Several human studies have demonstrated that chronic (>1 week) consumption of probiotic supplements containing L. plantarum was able to increase the presence of this bacterium in human gut participants. Thus, the investigators aim to test if supplementing participants with L. plantarum will increase the bioavailability of sulforaphane, compared to placebo.

Conditions

Nutrition, Healthy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: QUADRUPLE

Study Groups

Probiotic (L. plantarum) supplementation

Dose: 20 Billion CFU/day for 14 days (total of two pills of 10 Billion CFU)

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Broccoli sprouts extract supplementation

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Intake of broccoli sprouts extract supplement (Brand: Source Naturals, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 - USA) in an acute dose (84 umol of glucoraphanin) before and after 2 weeks of probiotic or placebo supplementation, to assess sulforaphane bioavailability measured in urine metabolites

Placebo (dextrose) supplementation

Dose: 700 mg of dextrose (total of two pills; 2 x 350 mg pills)

Group Type: PLACEBO_COMPARATOR

Broccoli sprouts extract supplementation

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Intake of broccoli sprouts extract supplement (Brand: Source Naturals, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 - USA) in an acute dose (84 umol of glucoraphanin) before and after 2 weeks of probiotic or placebo supplementation, to assess sulforaphane bioavailability measured in urine metabolites

Interventions

Broccoli sprouts extract supplementation

Intake of broccoli sprouts extract supplement (Brand: Source Naturals, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 - USA) in an acute dose (84 umol of glucoraphanin) before and after 2 weeks of probiotic or placebo supplementation, to assess sulforaphane bioavailability measured in urine metabolites

Intervention Type: DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• healthy adults (male and female)
• age range of 18-65 years
• BMI range of 18-30 kg/m2

Exclusion Criteria

• have been on a course of antibiotics within the period of the past 3 months.
• have allergies or intolerance towards probiotic substances or broccoli used in the study and/or food intolerances associated with gastrointestinal upset.
• have been taking pre- or probiotics supplements regularly during the last month prior (this does not include foods containing probiotics and/or prebiotics foods)
• are following any restricting diet (e.g., vegan, FODMAP, etc.).
• have a gastrointestinal inflammatory condition (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases, coeliac diseases, constipation, etc.).
• have a medical condition or take medication for any heart, endocrine, or metabolic condition, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, insulin resistance, or diabetes, or autoimmune disease.
• are a pregnant and/or breastfeeding.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The University of Queensland

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

PepsiCo, Inc.

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Exeter

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Luciana Torquati, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Exeter

Locations

The Department of Public Health and Sport Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter

Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom

Richard's Building, St Luke's Campus

Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom

Countries

United Kingdom

References

Oloyede OO, Wagstaff C, Methven L. The Impact of Domestic Cooking Methods on Myrosinase Stability, Glucosinolates and Their Hydrolysis Products in Different Cabbage (Brassica oleracea) Accessions. Foods. 2021 Nov 24;10(12):2908. doi: 10.3390/foods10122908.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 34945460 (View on PubMed)

Gonzalez F, Quintero J, Del Rio R, Mahn A. Optimization of an Extraction Process to Obtain a Food-Grade Sulforaphane-Rich Extract from Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). Molecules. 2021 Jul 1;26(13):4042. doi: 10.3390/molecules26134042.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 34279379 (View on PubMed)

Iahtisham-Ul-Haq, Khan S, Awan KA, Iqbal MJ. Sulforaphane as a potential remedy against cancer: Comprehensive mechanistic review. J Food Biochem. 2022 Mar;46(3):e13886. doi: 10.1111/jfbc.13886. Epub 2021 Aug 5.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 34350614 (View on PubMed)

Surono IS, Simatupang A, Kusumo PD, Waspodo P, Verbruggen S, Verhoeven J, Venema K. Effect of Different Functional Food Supplements on the Gut Microbiota of Prediabetic Indonesian Individuals during Weight Loss. Nutrients. 2022 Feb 13;14(4):781. doi: 10.3390/nu14040781.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 35215431 (View on PubMed)

Ye JH, Huang LY, Terefe NS, Augustin MA. Fermentation-based biotransformation of glucosinolates, phenolics and sugars in retorted broccoli puree by lactic acid bacteria. Food Chem. 2019 Jul 15;286:616-623. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.02.030. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 30827654 (View on PubMed)

Cai YX , Augustin MA , Jegasothy H , Wang JH , Terefe NS . Mild heat combined with lactic acid fermentation: a novel approach for enhancing sulforaphane yield in broccoli puree. Food Funct. 2020 Jan 29;11(1):779-786. doi: 10.1039/c9fo02089f.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 31922158 (View on PubMed)

Vermeulen M, Klopping-Ketelaars IW, van den Berg R, Vaes WH. Bioavailability and kinetics of sulforaphane in humans after consumption of cooked versus raw broccoli. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Nov 26;56(22):10505-9. doi: 10.1021/jf801989e.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 18950181 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

6190780

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id