Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of this study were to investigate whether a broccoli sprout extract containing sulforaphane (BSES) inhibited the Helicobacter pylori infection density and exerted an antioxidative effect on gastric mucosal damage. METHODS: The enrolled subjects were randomized in a double-blinded manner into three groups. Finally, 33 H. pylori (+) BSES treatment subjects (group A), 28 H. pylori (+) placebo subjects (group B), and 28 H. pylori (-) BSES treatment subjects (group C) were studied. H. pylori infection density was indirectly quantified by a (13)C-urea breath test (UBT), and the ammonia concentration in gastric juice aspirates was measured through gastroscopic examination. Malondialdehyde (MDA), an oxidative damage biomarker, and reduced glutathione (GSH), an antioxidant biomarker, were measured in the gastric mucosa by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: BSES treatment did not significantly affect the UBT values or ammonia concentration in group A (p=0.634 and p=0.505, respectively). BSES treatment did significantly reduce mucosal MDA concentrations in group A (p<0.05) and group C (p<0.001), whereas the gastric mucosal GSH concentrations did not differ before and after treatment in any of the groups. CONCLUSIONS: BSES did not inhibit the H. pylori infection density. However, BSES prevented lipid peroxidation in the gastric mucosa and may play a cytoprotective role in H. pylori-induced gastritis.