I’ve talked about the anti-aging effects of sulforaphane before. I take 2 capsules of BrocElite Plus® with 10 mg of sulforaphane (plus other isothiocyanates including PEITC) per day. And it impacts aging by:
- Delaying senescence (death of good cells).
- Inhibiting DNA methyltransferase (DNA mutations).
- Turning on the antioxidant response element of over 200 antioxidants.
- Inhibiting histone deacetylase.
- Inducing mitophagy (death of bad mitochondria).
- Inducing autophagy (death of bad cells).
- Promoting BDNF (preserves existing neurons & grows new neurons).
One new anti-aging benefit of sulforaphane is to create a “younger” microbiome. A peer-reviewed journal article published in 2020 by researchers out of Arkansas showed that giving old mice sulforaphane transformed their gut bacterial composition into that of young mice.
The microbiome is comprised of bacteria (as well as viruses, and fungi) in us and on us. We have trillions of bacteria in our microbiome, which is more than we have cells in our body. The bacteria in our gut is called the gut microbiome and is a complex ecosystem located in the intestinal tract.
In the study, 40 mice were examined – 20 were young (6-8 weeks old) and 20 were old (21-22 months old). There were young controls and young mice fed sulforaphane, as well as old controls and old mice who were fed sulforaphane for 2 months.
The results showed that the young controls and young mice fed sulforaphane had a similar microbiome. But in the older mice, there was a definite difference between the controls and mice fed sulforaphane.
Most notably different were bacteria from the Allobaculum genus. This genus is very low in older mice who typically have age-related mitochondrial dysfunction. In older mice taking sulforaphane, the prevalence of bacteria from the Allobaculum genus was similar to those of young mice.
So why are results from this study important? This is significant due to the benefit that bacteria from the Allobaculum genus have from their production of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). SCFAs are potently anti-inflammatory and are known to help with a variety of health benefits including the protection of the intestinal barrier.
The shift in microbiome to a less healthy composition as you age potentially may be due to a change in diet, decrease in exercise and increase in pharmaceuticals. As you age, your immune system decreases its ability to function properly. It has been well established that approximately 70% of the immune system is located in the gut.
And while the microbiome’s impact on the immune system has not been well established, it is plausible that the two are somehow connected, potentially through how inflamed the gut is.
The main take-away from this study is that sulforaphane may have a significant benefit on the microbiome composition of older individuals. The next step is to do this in humans at a dose that is realistic to take.
11 Comment
RENE – Great question! The amount of sulforaphane given the mice was one of the weaknesses of the study. They fed them a huge amount. It seems like researchers do this a lot in mice studies. We already have our eye on repeating this study in humans to determine the amount needed to receive this effect.
CHERIE – the sulforaphane gets into you system within hours. We have people who take BrocElite for recovery from excercise. So, yes, you can take it after excerise. Taking one in the morning and one in the evening is what we recommend. If you want to take an extra one after exercise, that would help with recovery.
CHERIE – the sulforaphane gets into you system within hours. We have people who take BrocElite for recovery from excercise. So, yes, you can take it after excerise. Taking one in the morning and one in the evening is what we recommend. If you want to take an extra one after exercise, that would help with recovery.
JOAN – we get this concern a lot. Everyone is different. For some with a sulfur allergy, it doesn’t work. For others, it does. I would suggest coordinating with your medical provider to test whether BrocElite can work for you.
Daniel – the heating process Rhonda Patrick speaks about is a high enough temperature to kill the enzyme without messing up the sulforaphane. The issue with sprouting, however, is the variability in the seeds. Some create lots of sulforaphane, some create none. Having grown enough sprouts to juice every day for about 3 yeas with little kids, I do know it’s really difficult. Having BrocElite provides people an option to get sulforphane (and the other isothiocynates in broccoli) who either don’t want to grow sprouts or want to have a back up if their crop fails.