How Broccoli Compound Fights Cancer

Filed in archive Food and Agriculture on December 6, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 3214889

UC Berkley scientists have identified a compound found in broccoli which may be responsible for its anti-cancer properties. The compound, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), is already undergoing clinical trials in humans based on results from animal trials showing that it could stop the growth of breast and prostate cancer cells in mice.

In a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the team of researchers demonstrated how I3C works.

Firestone, Bjeldanes and their colleagues showed that I3C inhibits the enzyme elastase, which at high levels in breast cancer cells heralds a poor prognosis: decreased response to chemotherapy, reduced response to endocrine treatment and reduced survival rates.

Elastase is an enzyme that shortens a cellular chemical, cyclin E, that is involved in controlling the cell cycle. The shortened version of cyclin E accelerates the cell cycle, making cancer cells proliferate faster. Firestone showed that I3C prevents the elastase shortening of cyclin E, thereby arresting development of breast cancer cells.

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