Abstract
BackgroundBroccoli is a Brassica vegetable that is believed to possess chemopreventive properties. Selenium also shows promise as an anticancer agent. Thus, selenium enrichment of broccoli has the potential to enhance the anticancer properties of broccoli sprouts.MethodSelenium-enriched broccoli sprouts were prepared using a sodium selenite solution. Their anticancer properties were evaluated in human prostate cancer cell lines and compared with those of a control broccoli sprout extract.ResultsSelenium-enriched broccoli sprouts were superior to normal broccoli sprouts in inhibiting cell proliferation, decreasing prostate-specific antigen secretion, and inducing apoptosis of prostate cancer cells. Furthermore, selenium-enriched broccoli sprouts but, not normal broccoli sprouts, induced a downregulation of the survival Akt/mTOR pathway.ConclusionOur results suggest that selenium-enriched broccoli sprouts could potentially be used as an alternative selenium source for prostate cancer prevention and therapy.
Highlights
Broccoli is a Brassica vegetable that is believed to possess chemopreventive properties
In the present study, we investigated the antiproliferative activity of a control broccoli sprout extract (CSp) and a Seenriched broccoli sprout extract (SeSp)
We explored the underlying mechanism of action in the survival and apoptosis pathways in human prostate cancer cell lines
Summary
Broccoli is a Brassica vegetable that is believed to possess chemopreventive properties. Selenium shows promise as an anticancer agent. Selenium enrichment of broccoli has the potential to enhance the anticancer properties of broccoli sprouts. Selenium (Se) is essential for humans and has been reported to play a beneficial role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease [1,2,3] and cancer [4,5,6]. The generation of various Se-enriched foods would be beneficial to prevent Se deficiency in people [10,11]. Broccoli is known to contain sulforaphane, an active anticancer agent [15,16]. Se-methylselenocysteine is known to possess cancer-protective properties [19,20]. Se-enriched broccoli accumulates two active anticancer agents: sulforaphane and Se-methylselenocysteine
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