What changes
Mild warming (~60 °C) increased sulforaphane formation in lab extracts; boiling stopped formation in mature broccoli.
Compounds affected
EMG crops connected to this
Human research
Human randomized trialBioavailability
Adding 1 g of powdered brown mustard to 200 g of cooked broccoli made sulforaphane more than four times as bioavailable as cooked broccoli alone.
- Population
- Adults
- Participants
- 12
- Amount studied
- 200 g cooked broccoli + 1 g brown mustard powder
- Form
- Cooked mature broccoli
- Measured
- Sulforaphane bioavailability
Keep in mind: Small study. Measured absorption, not a health outcome. Mature broccoli, not sprouts or microgreens.
Okunade O et al. · Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2018 · View study
Laboratory & mechanistic research
Lab, cell and animal findings explain how something behaves; they do not show the same result in people.
Lab analysis
Boiling broccoli stopped sulforaphane formation; adding powdered mustard seed afterward restarted it.
- Form
- Cooked mature broccoli
Keep in mind: Lab measurement on cooked mature broccoli, not sprouts or microgreens.
Ghawi SK, Methven L, Niranjan K · Food Chemistry, 2013 · View study
Lab analysis
Warming broccoli florets and sprouts to about 60 °C before crushing increased sulforaphane and reduced sulforaphane nitrile. At 70 °C and above, formation dropped in florets but not in sprouts.
- Form
- Broccoli florets and sprouts
Keep in mind: Measured in plant extracts in the lab, not in people.
Matusheski NV, Juvik JA, Jeffery EH · Phytochemistry, 2004 · View study
Keep in mind
Lab measurements in plant material, largely mature broccoli, not measured in people.
Sources: peer-reviewed research and NIH/USDA reference data, labeled by study type. EMG foods are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.