Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprout Extracts Protects the Brain Cells Against Cognitive Deficits

Cognition is the process of the brain functioning associated with the attention of working memory, producing and comprehending language, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and decision making.

Cognitive deficit is a medical condition, that affects a person's thinking, communication, understanding or memory. The cognitive deficit can be acute or chronic.

Acute cognitive deficit is a short-term health problem caused by drug toxicity and withdrawal, electrolyte disturbance, lack of drugs, liver disease, infection, reduced sensor input, intracranial urinary retention/fecal impaction or myocardial/metabolic/pulmonary. An acute cognitive deficit may be recovered if the cause is found.

Chronic cognitive deficit is a permanent medical condition caused by the gradual or permanent loss of the neurons, leading to problems of language, ideomotor and constructive praxis, visual gnosis, spatial attention, learning abilities, and executive functions.

There is no single cause of the chronic cognitive deficit. An increase in age, genetic preposition, certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, high blood cholesterol, and pressure, being obese and lack of exercise are some prevalent factors found in patients with chronic cognitive deficits.


Some researchers suggested that depending on the locations of the brain that were affected, patients may be at risk of Alzheimer's disease such as brain change caused by the abnormal clumps of beta-amyloid protein (plaques).


Small strokes or reduced blood flow through the brain can also cause a chronic cognitive deficit.

According to the observation of the patient MRI, patients brain with cognitive impairment also showed shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory, enlargement of the brain's fluid-filled spaces (ventricles) and reduced use of glucose, the sugar that's the primary source of energy for cells.

Out of many risk factors associated with the onset of the condition, obesity is also one of the major risk factors of cognitive impairment in the Western world.

Dr. Jason C. D. Nguyen, the lead author on the neurological team wrote in the final report, "The incidence of obesity in middle age is increasing markedly, and in parallel, the prevalence of metabolic disorders including cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes is also rising. Numerous studies have demonstrated that both obesity and metabolic disorders are associated with poorer cognitive performance, cognitive decline, and dementia".

Brussels sprout is a species of wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea), belong to the family of Brassicaceae and was cultivated since ancient Rome.


With an aim to find a potential compound for the treament of cognitive impairment, researchers examined the effects of dietary intake of sulforaphane-rich broccoli sprout extracts against parameters associated with the risk of cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia.

According to the results of the experiment, sulforaphane (SFN) derived from broccoli showed a strong effect in the activation of the transcription factor Nrf2 regulated by Keap1, a cytoplasmic protein which plays a central role against the stimulation of oxidative stress.


Moreover, pretreatment with SFN attenuated cognitive deficit, the increase in 8-oxo-dG-positive cells, and the decrease in PV-positive cells in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus found in patients with a neurodegenerative disease caused by oxidative stress induced by administration of phencyclidine (PCP).


In other words, PCP-induced cognitive deficits were inhibited by the subsequent subchronic administration of SFN.

Believe it or not, chronic dietary intake of glucoraphanin (a glucosinolate precursor of SFN) during the juvenile and adolescence not only prevented the onset of PCP-induced cognitive deficit but also increased in 8-oxo-dG-positive cells and the decreased in PV-positive cells in the brain at adulthood.


The results strongly suggested the NRF2 gene and the KEAP1 gene had an epistatic effect in gene reaction on cognitive impairment (e.g., working memory and processing speed) in patients with schizophrenia.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "SFN may have prophylactic and therapeutic effects on cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Therefore, the dietary intake of SFN-rich broccoli sprouts during the juvenile and adolescence may prevent the onset of psychosis at adulthood".

Taken altogether, broccoli sprout processed abundantly SFN may be considered a functional food for the promotion of cognitive deficit, pending to the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.


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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Dietary Intake of Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprout Extracts during Juvenile and Adolescence Can Prevent Phencyclidine-Induced Cognitive Deficits at Adulthood by Shirai Y1, Fujita Y1, Hashimoto R2, Ohi K3, Yamamori H3, Yasuda Y3, Ishima T1, Suganuma H4, Ushida Y4, Takeda M3, Hashimoto K. (PubMed)
(2) Obesity and cognitive decline: role of inflammation and vascular changes by Jason C. D. Nguyen,1 A. Simon Killcross,2 and Trisha A. Jenkins. (PMC)