Early life exposure to broccoli sprouts may protect against colitis in inflammatory bowel disease | American Society for Microbiology

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

Broccoli sprouts. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Nov. 9, 2023 (MedicalXpress) -- High fiber diets, like those that include broccoli sprouts or other cruciferous vegetables, may reduce disease symptoms and improve quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study conducted in mice. The study was published in mSystems.

In the study, the investigators used a popular interleukin-10-knockout (IL-10-KO) mouse model of Crohn's to investigate the interactions between mice and their immune systems, as well as the broccoli sprout diet, microbes within the Crohn's-afflicted gut, and how those microbes would use an inactive compound in the broccoli sprouts to make an anti-inflammatory compound in the gut.

They also wanted to determine if, and by how much, a diet containing broccoli sprouts alleviates Crohn's symptoms, given the anti-inflammatory metabolites innately present in the sprouts.

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