Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Oct 28;111(43):15550-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1416940111. Epub 2014 Oct 13.

Sulforaphane treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Singh K1, Connors SL2, Macklin EA3, Smith KD4, Fahey JW5, Talalay P6, Zimmerman AW7.

• 1Lurie Center for Autism, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, MA 02421; Department of Pediatrics (Neurology), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655;
• 2Lurie Center for Autism, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, MA 02421;
• 3Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Biostatistics Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114; and.
• 4McKusick-Nathans Institute for Genetic Medicine and.
• 5Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chemoprotection Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.
• 6Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Chemoprotection Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205 ptalalay@jhmi.edu Andrew.Zimmerman@umassmemorial.org.
• 7Lurie Center for Autism, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Harvard Medical School, Lexington, MA 02421; Department of Pediatrics (Neurology), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655; ptalalay@jhmi.edu Andrew.Zimmerman@umassmemorial.org.

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), characterized by both impaired communication and social interaction, and by stereotypic behavior, affects about 1 in 68, predominantly males. The medico-economic burdens of ASD are enormous, and no recognized treatment targets the core features of ASD. In a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial, young men (aged 13-27) with moderate to severe ASD received the phytochemical sulforaphane (n = 29)--derived from broccoli sprout extracts--or indistinguishable placebo (n = 15). The effects on behavior of daily oral doses of sulforaphane (50-150 µmol) for 18 wk, followed by 4 wk without treatment, were quantified by three widely accepted behavioral measures completed by parents/caregivers and physicians: the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and Clinical Global Impression Improvement Scale (CGI-I). Initial scores for ABC and SRS were closely matched for participants assigned to placebo and sulforaphane. After 18 wk, participants receiving placebo experienced minimal change (<3.3%), whereas those receiving sulforaphane showed substantial declines (improvement of behavior): 34% for ABC (P < 0.001, comparing treatments) and 17% for SRS scores (P = 0.017). On CGI-I, a significantly greater number of participants receiving sulforaphane had improvement in social interaction, abnormal behavior, and verbal communication (P = 0.015-0.007). Upon discontinuation of sulforaphane, total scores on all scales rose toward pretreatment levels. Dietary sulforaphane, of recognized low toxicity, was selected for its capacity to reverse abnormalities that have been associated with ASD, including oxidative stress and lower antioxidant capacity, depressed glutathione synthesis, reduced mitochondrial function and oxidative phosphorylation, increased lipid peroxidation, and neuroinflammmation.

PMID:   25313065

J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2012 Aug 15;903:171-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2012.07.017. Epub 2012 Jul 21.

Quantitative profiling of glucosinolates by LC-MS analysis reveals several cultivars of cabbage and kale as promising sources of sulforaphane.

Sasaki K1, Neyazaki M, Shindo K, Ogawa T, Momose M.

• 1Central Laboratories for Frontier Technology, Kirin Holdings Company, 3377 Soutome, Sakura-city, Tochigi 329-1414, Japan. Katsunori Sasaki@kirin.co.jp

Abstract

Sulforaphane is an isothiocyanate well known for its potential health benefits. With the aim of finding sulforaphane supply sources, its precursor, glucoraphanin, was widely searched for among Brassica oleracea varieties. Quantitative profiling of seven glucosinolates by LC-MS analysis was performed on 6 cultivars of broccoli, 32 of cabbage and 24 cultivars of kale. The glucoraphanin levels found in three cultivars of cabbage and six cultivars of kale were comparable with, or even higher than, the highest of broccoli (119.4 mg/100g FW). The most promising group belonged to the black kale, Cavolo nero. Use of a C30 column and an ammonium formate buffer in LC-MS and a micro plate solid phase extraction technique was highly effective.

Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PMID:

22857862