Broccoli may hold the key to preventing a common form of arthritis, researchers revealed last night.
A study in the UK suggests that a chemical found in broccoli can help protect human cartilage from the erosion which causes osteo-arthritis
Now the Medical School in Norwich is planning a trial on human patients to see if eating broccoli can help protect the joints.
So far the researchers have tested a substance found in broccoli, sulforaphane, on laboratory mice and on human cartilage cells.
The studies suggest the chemical can slow down the destruction of the cartilage and of the joints, the researchers report in Arthritis & Research.
The chemical is found in other vegetables, such as cabbage and Brussels sprouts, but is especially rich in broccoli.
Researcher Professor Ian Clark, of the University of East Anglia, said the findings were "very promising."
He said: “As well as treating those who already have the condition, you need to be able to tell healthy people how to protect their joints into the future.
"There is currently no way in to the disease pharmaceutically and you cannot give healthy people drugs unnecessarily, so this is where diet could be a safe alternative."
Professor Alan Silman, of Arthritis Research UK, said: “Until now research has failed to show that food or diet can play any part in reducing the progression of osteoarthritis, so if these findings can be replicated in humans, it would be quite a breakthrough.
"We know that exercise and keeping to a healthy weight can improve people’s symptoms and reduce the chances of the disease progressing, but this adds another layer in our understanding of how diet could play its part.”
Sulforaphane represses matrix-degrading proteases and protects cartilage from destruction in vitro and in vivo. Arthritis & Research 28 August 2013
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