The study by Japanese scientists discovered that a chemical in broccoli – already hailed as a ‘superfood’ for its cancer preventing properties – slowed weight gain in mice.
The researchers said sulforaphane, a chemical compound contained in broccoli at relatively high concentrations, has been known to exert effects of cancer prevention by activating a transcription factor which regulates the balance of oxidation.
In the new study, scientists at Kanazawa University working with researchers compared mice fed with high-fat food supplemented with sulforaphane and others with high-fat food without sulforaphane in terms of their body weight.
The researchers found that the mice fed with sulforaphane exhibited a weight gain rate 15 per cent lower than that of the mice fed without sulforaphane.
They also had a 20 per cent reduction in visceral fat, and lower blood glucose levels according to the study published in Diabates, the journal of the American Diabetes Association.
Further research showed sulforaphane also accelerates adipose tissue browning, which induces fat burning.
Assistant Professor Naoto Nagata, of Kanazawa University, said the findings have uncovered two new functions of sulforaphane: fighting obesity by browning of adipocytes to augment energy consumption and improving ‘obese’ gut bacterial flora caused by a high-fat diet.
He said: “The two functions of sulforaphane newly uncovered by the current study are expected to contribute to improvement of inflammation of the liver or adipose tissues and insulin resistance as well as the prevention of lifestyle diseases.”
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