Broccoli-Antioxidant Action Lasts Longer than Vitamin C, Polyphenols, Glanbia Explains

Ingredient distributor Glanbia Nutritionals (Carlsbad, CA) has welcomed broccoli-based antioxidant Truebroc from Brassica Protection Products to its lineup. Elaine Drummond, PhD, Glanbia's clinical and technology development specialist, explains why the distributor believes that glucoraphanin, the antioxidant derived from broccoli seeds, is superior to other naturally derived antioxidants and why it is poised to take the supplement and food industry by storm.

Unlike “more traditional” antioxidants like vitamin C and polyphenols, glucoraphanin activates “continuous” antioxidant benefits in the body, Drummond says. “Glucoraphanin triggers a natural, continuous antioxidant stream in the body that renews itself over and over for up to three days,” she says. “Even after glucoraphanin has been consumed, the antioxidant pathway it stimulates keeps on going. Other antioxidant nutrients act in a ‘one-and-done’ fashion. They go in, perform their duty, and are depleted, and once they are gone, the oxidative process can continue, causing damage to tissues and organs.”

Glanbia will promote this difference and position Truebroc as a natural antioxidant source. “While synthetic antioxidants dominate the food-processing applications industry, natural ones are the preferred source in nutritional supplements,” Drummond adds.

Truebroc has a lot going for it, Glanbia believes. It contains the highest concentration of glucoraphanin on the market-13% minimum-Drummond says. It is derived from U.S.-grown broccoli, which of all brassica vegetables contains the highest glucoraphanin content, especially in its seeds and sprouts. As an ingredient for tablets, capsules, powders, and functional foods and beverages, glucoraphanin is converted to sulforaphane in the body, a process that helps sidestep the sulfurous taste or odor common to broccoli itself, Drummond adds. Sulforaphane itself activates antioxidant and cellular protection. She further points out that although already-isolated sulforaphane ingredients are sold on the market, these ingredients are less stable “and can be more efficiently absorbed if consumed [first] as glucoraphanin.”

While Drummond acknowledges that consumers still face a learning curve when it comes to glucoraphanin and Truebroc, the ingredient’s extensive scientific dossier helps support its credibility. “The discovery of glucoraphanin and its remarkable health benefits is still relatively new, so it is to be expected that consumer awareness of the compound will be low, but awareness of the parent vegetable [broccoli] is high,” Drummond adds. With Truebroc, she says, consumers don’t have to consume the broccoli they already know is good for them. According to Drummond, “Market research conducted by Survey Methodology for Brassica Protection revealed that nearly 40% of Americans wish they could consume the nutritional benefits of broccoli without actually having to eat it. So, it is clear: consumers want the benefits of broccoli, but they don’t want to have to eat a whole lot of it.”

“It is important to get the message out to consumers and marketers that this is no ordinary antioxidant,” Drummond continues. “Truebroc offers a new kind of antioxidant activity, very different to the well more-known antioxidants such as vitamin C or polyphenols. These act quickly but their effect is short-lived.”

“We at Glanbia Nutritionals believe [Trubroc] represents a new generation of antioxidant nutrients” for beauty from within, sports nutrition, general well being, and beyond, Drummond concludes.

Also read:

Broccoli Antioxidant Market to Grow, Brassica Predicts

Broccoli Compound May Fight Osteoarthritis

Jennifer Grebow
Editor-in-Chief
Nutritional Outlook magazine
jennifer.grebow@ubm.com

Photo © iStockphoto.com/MarenWischnewski