Search Results (9)

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) is one of the most consumed cruciferous crops in the world, with China and Spain acting as the main producers from outside and within the EU, respectively. Broccoli florets are edible, while the leaves and stalks, discarded in the field and during processing, are by-products. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct a comprehensive review of the nutrient and phytochemical composition of broccoli and its by-products, as well as its beneficial effects. In addition, the study highlights the revalorization of broccoli by-products through innovative green technologies and explores their potential use in bakery products for the development of functional foods. The studies suggested that broccoli is characterized by a high content of nutrients and bioactive compounds, including vitamins, fiber, glucosinolates, and phenolic compounds, and their content varied with various parts. This high content of value-added compounds gives broccoli and its various parts beneficial properties, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, metabolic disorder regulatory, and neuroprotective effects. Furthermore, broccoli and its by-products can play a key role in food applications by improving the nutritional profile of products due to their rich content of bioactive compounds. As a result, it is essential to harness the potential of the broccoli and its by-products that are generated during its processing through an appropriate agro-industrial revalorization, using environmentally friendly techniques. Full article

Soil affects plant growth and development, and it is one of the factors that determine crop yields and quality. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica Plenck) plants cv. Cezar were grown in an experiment conducted in 2021–2022 on a horticultural farm. The biometric parameters of broccoli plants were determined in the first stage. The chemical composition of the edible parts of broccoli was determined in the second stage, which involved two experimental factors. The first factor was the edible parts of broccoli: florets, leaves, and stalks. The second factor was the effect of soil type on the chemical composition of the edible parts of broccoli. Albic Luvisol (II) had a significant positive effect on floret height and the number of florets. Leaf yield was significantly lower when broccoli plants were grown in Eutric Cambisol (I) compared with Albic Luvisol (II) and degraded chernozem (III). Soil type had no significant influence on the macronutrient content of broccoli florets, leaves, and stalks, but the accumulation of macronutrients varied across the edible plant parts. The content of iron, zinc and manganese in broccoli plants was not significantly affected by soil type, but soil type exerted a significant effect on copper content. Full article

Obesity, a rising concern in the Eastern world, encompasses several co-morbidities, namely non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Potential natural-based interventions to decrease the burden of obesity complications are being investigated. Many of the edible parts of plants are not sold for consumption and end up as massive waste, losing nutritional potential. In fact, a sizeable amount of waste is generated within the different steps of the food supply chain, representing a massive loss of both plant material and natural resources. A good example is Brassica by-products (BBPs). The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of three different extracts from broccoli (Brassica oleracea var italica) by-products in an in vitro model of free fatty acid (FFA)-induced lipotoxicity using human hepatoma HepG2 cells. Broccoli leaf, stalk, and inflorescence extracts induced a dose-dependent decrease in the cell viability of HepG2 cells. However, the maximal non-lethal concentrations of leaves, stalks, and inflorescences (10 μg/mL) did not compromise mitochondrial function or neutral lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells. The extracts significantly decreased FFA-induced lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells either in a co-incubation or pre-incubation strategy. The broccoli extracts’ capacity to prevent the FFA-induced decrease in catalase activity in HepG2 may explain the observed effects. Full article

The accumulation of cadmium in plants produces phytotoxic damage and a decrease in crop yield. To avoid this effect, it is necessary to prevent its absorption by roots and reduce its toxicity in plant tissues. The current study was aimed to evaluate the effect of the exogenous applications of Biocat G (fulvic/humic acids), selenium (Se), and chitosan to roots and leaves of broccoli plants exposed to Cd stress. The applied treatments were: (i) T1: Hoagland nutrient solution (NS), (ii) T2: NS + Cd at 3 mg L-1 (NS + Cd), (iii) T3: NS + Cd + root application of Biocat G (NS + Cd + BioG), (iv) T4: NS + Cd + foliar application of Se (NS + Cd + Se1), (v) T5: NS + Cd + root application of Se (NS + Cd + Se2), (vi) T6: NS + Cd + foliar application of chitosan (NS + Cd + chitosan1), and (vii) T7: NS + Cd + root application of chitosan (NS + Cd + chitosan2). The results showed that the exogenous application of Biocat G and Se (T3 and T5) ameliorated the adverse effects caused by Cd toxicity and significantly improved plant growth rate by decreasing Cd toxicity; besides, Biocat G was able to limit the transport of Cd from the leaves to the inflorescences, reducing the content of Cd in the edible part. These treatments (T3 and T5) yielded the best results, act on the plants by deactivating Cd toxicity, but they did not affect its accumulation in the plant tissue. In addition, Biocat G limits the transport of Cd from the non-edible to the edible part. Full article

A large amount of waste is generated within the different steps of the food supply chain, representing a significant loss of natural resources, plant material, and economic value for producers and consumers. During harvesting and processing, many parts of edible plants are not sold for consumption and end up as massive waste, adding environmental hazards to the list of concerns regarding food wastage. Examples are Brassica oleracea var. Italica (broccoli) by-products, which represent 75% of the plant mass. A growing concern in the Western world is obesity, which results from incorrect lifestyles and comprises an extensive array of co-morbidities. Several studies have linked these co-morbidities to increased oxidative stress; thus, naturally occurring and readily available antioxidant compounds are an attractive way to mitigate metabolic diseases. The idea of by-products selected for their biomedical value is not novel. However, there is innovation underlying the use of Brassica by-products in the context of obesity. For this reason, Brassica by-products are prime candidates to be used in the treatment of obesity due to its bioactive compounds, such as sulforaphane, which possess antioxidant activity. Here, we review the economic and health potential of Brassica bioactive compounds in the context of obesity. Full article

To facilitate transition to a sustainable food system, it is necessary to address food losses. A large proportion of waste occurs during primary production, with large quantities of edible crop parts left in the field at harvest. One such product is broccoli, where normally only around one-third of the edible parts of the plant are harvested in Sweden. Much of the broccoli plant consists of edible leaves and this side stream represents an unused resource with great potential. This study assessed the potential environmental savings that can be achieved by utilising broccoli side streams as a powder in soups and bread. Consequential and attributional life cycle assessments were conducted, based on scenarios relevant for growers in southern Sweden. The results showed that the scenario with the largest saving potential was to process the broccoli side streams into a powder for use in broccoli soup. The main saving was due to substitution of imported broccoli powder, which was assumed to be produced from broccoli florets using a more fossil-based energy mix. The second best scenario was to use the side-stream broccoli powder as a wheat substitute in bread but, since wheat flour is less resource-demanding than imported broccoli powder, the emission savings were lower in this case. However, replacing wheat flour with a vegetable-based product could provide additional health benefits that are important in achieving a healthy, locally available, and environmentally friendly diet suitable for a sustainable food system. Full article

Sulforaphane (SFN) is a health-promoting compound occurring in broccoli. It is formed by action of myrosinase in a two-step reaction that also yields undesirable compounds such as nitriles and isothionitriles. Different techniques affecting enzyme activity and tissue integrity were proposed to increase SFN content in the edible parts and discards of broccoli. Ultrasound processing is an emerging technology that produces these effects in foods, but has been poorly explored in broccoli so far. The aim of this work was to study the effect of ultrasound-assisted blanching on myrosinase activity and SFN content in broccoli florets. Myrosinase showed first-order inactivation kinetics in blanching at different temperatures with and without ultrasound processing. The inactivation rate was faster using ultrasound, with kinetic constants two orders of magnitude higher than without ultrasound. The activation energy (Ea) in traditional blanching (57.3 kJ mol⁻¹) was higher than in ultrasound-assisted blanching (15.8 kJ mol⁻¹). Accordingly, ultrasound accelerates myrosinase inactivation. The blanching time and temperature significantly affected myrosinase activity and SFN content. At 60 °C and 4 min of ultrasound-assisted blanching, myrosinase activity was minimum and SFN content was the highest. These findings may help to design SFN enrichment processes and will contribute to the valorization of agro-industrial wastes. Full article

Broccoli contains a substantial amount of bioactive compounds such as glucosinolates, phenolics, and essential nutrients, which are positively linked to health-promoting effects. This work aimed to evaluate whether both edible and non-edible parts of broccoli could be effective by examining in vitro antioxidant, cytotoxic, apoptotic, and antibacterial properties of its floret, leaf, and seed extracts (FE, LE, and SE, correspondingly). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and various assays exhibited strong antioxidant activities of all samples. LE obtained the highest capacity, correlated to its polyphenolic contents. SE exerted significant cytotoxicity against A549, Caco-2, and HepG2 cancer cell lines at low inhibitory concentration (IC)₅₀ values (0.134, 0.209, and 0.238 mg/mL, respectively), as tested by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Flow cytometry confirmed apoptosis induction of extracts in Caco-2 cells by revealing an increased subG1 population and a decreased mitochondrial membrane potential. The considerable antibacterial efficacy was observed in either LE and SE against Bacillus subtilis and Salmonella typhimurium (0.39–0.78 mg/mL) using well-agar diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) techniques, along with the weak activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli (1.56–3.13 mg/mL). The findings suggest that broccoli and its byproducts might serve as a promising source for further development of food or pharmaceutical products. Full article

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in its latest World Cancer Report (2014) has projected the increase in the global cancer burden from 14 million (2012) to 22 million incidence annually within the next two decades. Such statistics warrant a collaborative engagement of conventional and complementary and alternative therapies to contain and manage cancer. In recent years, there has been a shift in the cancer chemoprevention paradigm with a significant focus turning towards bioactive components of human diets for their anticancer properties. Since diet is an integral part of lifestyle and given that an estimated one third of human cancers are believed to be preventable though appropriate lifestyle modification including dietary habits, the current shift in the conventional paradigm assumes significance. Several epidemiological studies have indicated that consumption of broccoli is associated with a lower risk of cancer incidence including breast, prostate, lung, stomach and colon cancer. The edible plant belonging to the family of cruciferae such as broccoli is a rich source of glucoraphanin, a precursor of isothiocyanate sulforaphane which is considered to be a potent anti-cancer agent. Plant-based dietary agents such as sulforaphane mimic chemotherapeutic drugs such as vorinostat, possessing histone deacetylase inhibition activity. Evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies have emerged, enhancing the clinical plausibility and translational value of sulforaphane in cancer chemoprevention. The present review provides the current understanding of the cancer chemopreventive pharmacology of sulforaphane towards its potential as an anticancer agent. Full article