Three-day-old broccoli sprouts contain 10 to 100 times more glucoraphanin (the sulforaphane precursor) than mature broccoli.

Animal / cell studyFahey, Zhang & Talalay, PNAS, 1997 · View study

Keep in mind: The same paper reported tumor results in rats. That is an animal result, not a human cancer finding; we cite only the glucoraphanin comparison.

Eating 30 g a day of fresh raw broccoli sprouts for 10 weeks lowered the inflammation markers IL-6 and C-reactive protein in 40 overweight adults.

Human trialLópez-Chillón et al., Clinical Nutrition, 2018 · View study

Keep in mind: The study compared the same people during and after the sprout phase, with no separate placebo group, and included only healthy overweight adults.

70 g a day of broccoli sprouts for 8 weeks reduced H. pylori colonization and stomach-inflammation markers.

Human randomized trialYanaka et al., Cancer Prevention Research, 2009 · View study

Keep in mind: This daily amount is larger than our standard servings.

Fresh preparations with the plant's own myrosinase enzyme delivered sulforaphane 3 to 4 times more effectively than glucoraphanin given without the enzyme.

Human trialFahey et al., PLOS ONE, 2015 · View study

Keep in mind: Very small volunteer group. Heat destroys myrosinase, which is why we recommend eating broccoli sprouts and microgreens raw.

Sulforaphane switches on the body's Nrf2 antioxidant pathway and lowers inflammatory signals (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β).

Animal / cell studySubedi et al., Cells, 2019 · View study

Sulforaphane also blocks the NLRP3 inflammasome, an inflammation trigger, through a separate route from Nrf2.

Animal / cell studyGreaney et al., Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2015 · View study

Warming broccoli florets and sprouts to about 60 °C before crushing increased sulforaphane and reduced an inactive by-product, sulforaphane nitrile. At 70 °C and above, formation dropped in florets but not in sprouts.

Lab studyMatusheski, Juvik & Jeffery, Phytochemistry, 2004 · View study

Keep in mind: Measured in plant extracts in the lab, not in people.

Boiling broccoli stopped sulforaphane from forming. Adding powdered mustard seed afterward restarted it, because mustard's enzyme holds up to heat better than broccoli's.

Lab studyGhawi, Methven & Niranjan, Food Chemistry, 2013 · View study

Keep in mind: Lab measurement on cooked mature broccoli, not sprouts or microgreens.

In 12 adults, adding 1 g of powdered brown mustard to 200 g of cooked broccoli made sulforaphane more than four times as bioavailable as the cooked broccoli alone.

Human randomized trialOkunade et al., Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, 2018 · View study

Keep in mind: Small study. It measured how much sulforaphane was absorbed, not a health outcome.

In 16 adults, taking a glucoraphanin-rich broccoli seed extract with mustard seed powder roughly doubled sulforaphane bioavailability, to about 40% of the dose versus about 19% without it.

Human randomized trialScientific Reports, 2026 · View study

Keep in mind: Used a supplement extract with added vitamin C, not fresh greens. It measured absorption, not a health outcome.

Eating fresh broccoli sprouts together with a glucoraphanin-rich powder that lacked the enzyme raised sulforaphane levels in blood and urine and sped up absorption compared with the powder alone.

Human trialBritish Journal of Nutrition, 2011 · View study

Keep in mind: Small group of healthy men. It measured absorption, not a health outcome.

• Vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin K1 levels in cruciferous sprouts and microgreens (Zeng et al., J Sci Food Agric, 2023). View
• Minerals and vitamins across 21 Brassica microgreens under different LED light (Kamal et al., Physiologia Plantarum, 2020). View