Another study with broccoli sprouts found that when an extract from the sprouts was applied to the skin of hairless mice

Another study with broccoli sprouts found that when an extract from the sprouts was applied to the skin of hairless mice, it counteracted carcinogenic responses to ultraviolet light exposure: a cause of skin cancer. "

Just when we stopped exposing the mice to UV light, we started applying broccoli sprout extract," says Albena T. Dinkova-Kostova, a postgraduate fellow at Johns Hopkins University. "We found that only 50 percent of mice treated with the extract developed tumors, compared with 100 percent of the mice not treated with the extract," she says. "

The topical application of this extract could be developed to be a potential agent against UV light-induced skin cancer." Dinkova-Kostova's team is studying whether ingesting broccoli sprouts for the sulforaphane might also work in protecting mice from getting skin cancer. She hopes to see if either ingested or topical sulforaphane can protect people from skin cancer. "This strategy is probably worthwhile to be developed for protection in humans," she says.
(The HealthDay Web site) 2005 HealthDay News