Fighting Cancer with Broccoli Seeds

Broccoli seeds may become an economical source of a cancer-fighting compound known as glucoraphanin. Extracting glucoraphanin from the seed for pharmaceutical purposes would be easier, and less expensive, than using broccoli heads.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, S.C., intend to breed broccoli plants that are prolific producers of seed rich in the compound (HortScience, volume 40, pages 50 to 53).

Already, the researchers have produced relatively high-glucoraphanin broccoli plants, some of which form seed without the help of insect pollinators.

Source:
U.S. Department of Agriculture