Comparison of the protective effects of steamed and cooked broccolis on ischaemia–reperfusion-induced cardiac injury

Abstract

Recently, broccoli, a vegetable of the Brassica family, has been found to protect the myocardium from ischaemic reperfusion injury through the redox signalling of sulphoraphane, which is being formed from glucosinolate present in this vegetable. Since cooked broccoli loses most of its glucosinolate, we assumed that fresh broccoli could be a superior cardioprotective agent compared to cooked broccoli. To test this, two groups of rats were fed with fresh (steamed) broccoli or cooked broccoli for 30 d, while a third group was given vehicle only for the same period of time. After 30 d, all the rats were sacrificed, and the isolated working hearts were subjected to 30 min ischaemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Both cooked and steamed broccolis displayed significantly improved post-ischaemic ventricular function and reduced myocardial infarction and cardiomyocyte apoptosis compared to control, but steamed broccoli showed superior cardioprotective abilities compared with the cooked broccoli. Corroborating with these results, both cooked and steamed broccolis demonstrated significantly enhanced induction of the survival signalling proteins including Bcl2, Akt, extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2, haemoxygenase-1, NFE2 related factor 2, superoxide dismutase (SOD1) and SOD2 and down-regulation of the proteins (e.g. Bax, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) of the death signalling pathway, steamed broccoli displaying superior results over its cooked counterpart. The expressions of proteins of the thioredoxin (Trx) superfamily including Trx1 and its precursor sulphoraphane, Trx2 and Trx reductase, were enhanced only in the steamed broccoli group. The results of the present study documented superior cardioprotective properties of the steamed broccoli over cooked broccoli because of the ability of fresh broccoli to perform redox signalling of Trx.Broccoli: Cardioprotection: Ischaemia/reperfusion: Sulphoraphane

Sulforaphane Induces Oxidative Stress and Death by p53-Independent Mechanism: Implication of Impaired Glutathione Recycling

“…Noteworthy, doxorubicin, an anticancer drug commonly used in osteosarcoma therapy, has been previously shown to induce intracellular ROS formation, which was found necessary for mitochondrial membrane depolarization, pro-caspase 3 activation, apoptosis and G2/M phase arrest in the p53-null SaOS-2 osteosarcoma cell line [52]. However, unlike doxorubicin which is cardiotoxic, SFN is still not reported to present cardiotoxicity at the doses presented in this study [53], [54].…”

Dietary Regulation of Keap1/Nrf2/ARE Pathway: Focus on Plant-Derived Compounds and Trace Minerals

“…Even method of preparation can alter the health effects. Both steamed and cooked broccoli-based diets were protective against ischemic cardiac injury in rats, upregulating Nrf2, SOD1, and SOD2, however only steamed broccoli had any effect on Trx and TrxR expression [74]. …”

The therapeutic potential of hydrogen sulfide: separating hype from hope

“…4B), the isothiocyanate compound from broccoli (Brassica oleracea), protects vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells from oxidative and inflammatory stress and suppresses angiogeniesis (61,139,208). It also protects hearts from ischemia reperfusion-induced injury (108). Sulphoraphane also has neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory actions mediated, in part, through activation of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and provides some protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury, hemorrhage, and serotonin-induced toxicity (19).…”