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Dietary Broccoli Sprouts Protect Against Myocardial Oxidative Damage and Cell Death During Ischemia-Reperfusion

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Abstract

Cruciferous vegetables are known for antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic effects. In the current study we asked whether dietary broccoli sprouts can protect the heart from ischemia-reperfusion. Rats were fed either control diet (sham and control groups) or a diet mixed with 2% dried broccoli sprouts for 10 days. After 10 days the isolated hearts were subjected to ischemia for 20 min and reperfusion for 2 h, and evaluated for cell death, oxidative damage, and Nrf2-regulated phase 2 enzyme activities. Broccoli sprouts feeding inhibited markers of necrosis (lactate dehydrogenase release) and apoptosis (caspase-3 activity) by 78–86%, and decreased indices of oxidative stress (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and aconitase inactivation) by 82–116%. While broccoli sprouts increased total glutathione and activities of the phase 2 enzymes glutamate cysteine ligase and quinone reductase in liver, they did not affect these in ischemic-reperfused heart. While the mechanism is not clear, the results show that a relatively short dietary treatment with broccoli sprouts can strongly protect the heart against oxidative stress and cell death caused by ischemia-reperfusion.

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Abbreviations

DCIP:

2,6-dichloroindophenol

GCL:

glutamate cysteine ligase

GSH:

reduced glutathione

GSSG:

oxidized glutathione

IR:

ischemia-reperfusion

LDH:

lactate dehydrogenase

PMSF:

phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride

QR:

quinone reductase

TBARS:

thiobarbituric acid reactive substances

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). M. Akhlaghi was supported by a PhD fellowship from the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Thanks to Dr. Bernhard H. Juurlink and Dr. Paul Lee for the broccoli seeds and helpful advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health and Nutrition, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, PO Box 71645-111, Shiraz, Iran

    Masoumeh Akhlaghi

  2. College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5C9, Canada

    Brian Bandy

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  1. Masoumeh Akhlaghi
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Correspondence to Masoumeh Akhlaghi.

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Akhlaghi, M., Bandy, B. Dietary Broccoli Sprouts Protect Against Myocardial Oxidative Damage and Cell Death During Ischemia-Reperfusion. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 65, 193–199 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-010-0182-4

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