Cruciferous vegetables
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Edible plants in the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae) are termed Cruciferous vegetables. For a botanical description of plants in this family (whether or not used for food), see Brassicaceae. Ten of the most common vegetables eaten by people are in a single species (B. oleracea), and are not distinguished from one another taxonomically, but only by the horticultural category of cultivar groups. Numerous other genera and species in the family are also edible. Cruciferous vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide. Widely considered to be healthful foods, they are high in vitamin C and soluble fibre and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties: diindolylmethane, sulforaphane and selenium. Both diindolylmethane, sulforaphane, and many other sharp-tasting substances in these vegetables are produced from substances called glucosinolates.
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that 3,3'-Diindolylmethane in Brassica vegetables is a strong androgen receptor antagonist in human prostate cancer cells.[1]
Cruciferous vegetables can potentially be goitrogenic (inducing goiter formation). They contain enzymes that interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone.[2][3] Cooking for 30 minutes significantly reduces the amount of goitrogens and nitriles. At high intake of crucifers, the goitrogens inhibit the incorporation of iodine into thyroid hormone and also the transfer of iodine into milk by the mammary gland.[4]
Cruciferous vegetables have recently been implicated in some pharmacological drug interactions. These vegetables are powerful inducers of the microsomal cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1A2, which is responsible for the metabolism of many pharmacological agents[5]. By causing induction of the enzyme, it may incidentally increase the rate of phase I transformations (see pharmacokinetics) of pharmocological agents that are normally metabolized by this enzyme, expediting the process of drug metabolism. This, in turn, could produce drug plasma concentration that is less than the desired therapeutic range.
[edit] List of cruciferous vegetables
Extensive selective breeding has produced a large variety of cultivars, especially within the genus Brassica. One description of genetic factors involved in the breeding of Brassica species is the Triangle of U.
| common name | genus | specific epithet | Cultivar Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| kale | Brassica | oleracea | Acephala Group |
| collard greens | Brassica | oleracea | Acephala Group |
| Chinese broccoli (kai-lan) | Brassica | oleracea | Alboglabra Group |
| cabbage | Brassica | oleracea | Capitata Group |
| brussels sprout | Brassica | oleracea | Gemmifera Group |
| kohlrabi | Brassica | oleracea | Gongylodes Group |
| broccoli | Brassica | oleracea | Italica Group |
| broccoflower | Brassica | oleracea | Italica Group × Botrytis Group |
| broccoli romanesco | Brassica | oleracea | Botrytis Group / Italica Group |
| cauliflower | Brassica | oleracea | Botrytis Group |
| wild broccoli | Brassica | oleracea | Oleracea Group |
| bok choy | Brassica | rapa | chinensis |
| komatsuna | Brassica | rapa | pervidis or komatsuna |
| mizuna | Brassica | rapa | nipposinica |
| Rapini (broccoli rabe) | Brassica | rapa | parachinensis |
| flowering cabbage | Brassica | rapa | parachinensis |
| chinese cabbage, napa cabbage | Brassica | rapa | pekinensis |
| turnip root; greens | Brassica | rapa | rapifera |
| rutabaga | Brassica | napus | napobrassica |
| siberian kale | Brassica | napus | pabularia |
| canola/rapeseed | Brassica | rapa/napus | oleifera |
| wrapped heart mustard cabbage | Brassica | juncea | rugosa |
| mustard seeds, brown; greens | Brassica | juncea | |
| mustard seeds, white | Brassica (or Sinapis) | hirta | |
| mustard seeds, black | Brassica | nigra | |
| tatsoi | Brassica | rosularis | |
| ethiopian mustard | Brassica | carinata | |
| radish | Raphanus | sativus | |
| daikon | Raphanus | sativus | longipinnatus |
| horseradish | Armoracia | rusticana | |
| wasabi | Wasabia | japonica | |
| rocket (arugula) | Eruca | vesicaria | |
| watercress | Nasturtium | officinale | |
| garden cress | Lepidium | sativum |
[edit] References
- ^ Plant-derived 3,3'-Diindolylmethane Is a Strong Androgen Antagonist in Human Prostate Cancer Cells* Hien T. Le , Charlene M. Schaldach , Gary L. Firestone ¶ and Leonard F. Bjeldanes. J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 278, Issue 23, 21136-21145, June 6, 2003. http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/278/23/21136
- ^ What are Goitrogens and How Do they Affect the Thyroid?, Mary Shomon, author of Your Guide to Thyroid Disease
- ^ Thyroid Deficiency Strikes One in Six, John McDougall, McDougall Newsletter, Volume 4, Number 12, December, 2005.
- ^ "Bearers of the Cross: Crucifers in the Context of Traditional Diets and Modern Science". http://www.westonaprice.org/basicnutrition/crucifers.html#goitrogens.
- ^ Brassica vegetables increase and apiaceous vegetables decrease cytochrome P450 1A2 activity in humans: changes in caffeine metabolite ratios in response to controlled vegetable diets Johanna W. Lampe2, Irena B. King, Sue Li, Margaret T. Grate, Karen V. Barale, Chu Chen1, Ziding Feng and John D. Potter Cancer Prevention Research Program and 1 Program in Epidemiology, Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98109-1024, USA http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/6/1157
| general | Rebecca Wood, 1999. The new whole foods encyclopedia. ISBN 0-14-025032-8 |
| Brassica juncea | http://www.floridata.com/ref/B/bras_jun.cfm |
| Brassica napa | http://www.floridata.com/ref/B/bras_nap.cfm |
| Brassica oleracea | http://www.floridata.com/ref/B/brass_ole.cfm |
| Chinese flowering cabbage | http://www.ahs.cqu.edu.au/info/science/psg/AsianVeg/ChinFlCabb.html |
| romanesco | http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/Romanesco/ |
| Cruciferae | http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/find_lat?FAM=Cruciferae&CAN=fam |
| edible/useful plants | http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/D_search.html |
