Reversal of aging and immunosenescent trends with sulforaphane covered only the first 13 minutes of a super informative presentation by the lead researcher of clinical trial Reversal of aging and immunosenescent trends.  Commonalities with sulforaphane research were found by PubMed searches of sulforaphane and each presentation topic, and used a 1/1/2015 publication date cutoff.

Continuing presentation topics from the 13:40 mark:

Cancer

• The Role of Glucosinolate Hydrolysis Products from Brassica Vegetable Consumption in Inducing Antioxidant Activity and Reducing Cancer Incidence
  

  “Common Brassica ITCs, such as SF and phenethyl ITC (PEITC), have proven to either inhibit carcinogenesis or induce cancer cell growth arrest and apoptosis in several cell types including: breast, bladder, colon, ovary, blood, skin, and prostate cells. All epidemiological studies reviewed showed a significant decrease in cancer risk associated with cruciferous vegetable consumption for various types of cancer including: bladder, lung, lymphoma, prostate, breast, kidney, and ovarian.”

Lymphocyte/monocyte ratio

• Effect of Broccoli Sprouts and Live Attenuated Influenza Virus on Peripheral Blood Natural Killer Cells: A Randomized, Double-Blind Study
  

  “Data shown here indicate that SFN of BSH supplementation increases granzyme B levels in peripheral blood NK cells in nonsmoking individuals and that these systemic effects may be inversely related to viral load in nasal lavage fluid cells, suggesting that SFN-induced effects on peripheral blood NK cells could affect antiviral host defense responses in the nasal mucosa.”

• Sulforaphane and Its Methylcarbonyl Analogs Inhibit the LPS-stimulated Inflammatory Response in Human Monocytes Through Modulating Cytokine Production, Suppressing Chemotactic Migration and Phagocytosis in a NF-κB- And MAPK-dependent Manner
  

  “Results obtained in this study had demonstrated anti-inflammatory potential of SF and its methylcarbonyl analogs in both mouse macrophages and human monocytes. Biological mechanisms underlying anti-inflammatory activities of these aliphatic ITCs, which involved repression of expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, as well as inhibition of phagocytosis and chemotactic migration of inflammatory cells, were elucidated to be mediated at least in part through suppression of TLR-dependent NF-κB and MAPK signaling.”

CD38 monocytes

• NQO1-induced activation of AMPK contributes to cancer cell death by oxygen-glucose deprivation
  

  “NQO1 plays a key role in AMPK-induced cancer cell death in OGD through the CD38/cADPR/RyR/Ca2+/CaMKII signaling pathway. Expression of NQO1 is elevated by hypoxia/reoxygenation or inflammatory stresses through nuclear accumulation of the NQO1 transcription factor, Nrf2 (NFE2-related factor 2). Activation of the cytoprotective Nrf2 antioxidant pathway by sulforaphane protects immature neurons and astrocytes from death caused by exposure to combined hypoxia and glucose deprivation.”

Thymus – no recent sulforaphane studies

Renal function

• Rapid and Sustainable Detoxication of Airborne Pollutants by Broccoli Sprout Beverage: Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial in China
  

  “Rapid and sustained, statistically significant increases in levels of excretion of glutathione-derived conjugates of benzene (61%), acrolein (23%), but not crotonaldehyde were found in those receiving broccoli sprout beverage compared with placebo. Excretion of benzene-derived mercapturic acid was higher in participants who were GSTT1-positive compared to the null genotype, irrespective of study arm assignment. Measures of sulforaphane metabolites in urine indicated that bioavailability did not decline over the 12-week daily dosing period. Intervention with broccoli sprouts enhances detoxication of some airborne pollutants, and may provide a frugal means to attenuate their associated long-term health risks.”

Hair rejuvenation

• Sulforaphane Promotes Murine Hair Growth by Accelerating the Degradation of Dihydrotestosterone
  

  “Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) causes regression of human hair follicles in the parietal scalp, leading to androgenic alopecia. Sulforaphane (SFN) increases expression of DHT degrading enzymes, such as 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (3α-HSDs). SFN treatment increases the amount of 3α-HSDs in the liver, accelerates degradation of blood DHT, and subsequently blocks suppression of hair growth by DHT.”

• A hair color anecdote 🙂

Epigenetic clocks – There are no sulforaphane studies that use epigenetic clocks, although broccoli compounds have epigenetic effects on aging, as reviewed in 2019:

• Sulforaphane – role in aging and neurodegeneration
  

  “SFN has been shown to modulate several cellular pathways in order to activate diverse protective responses, which might allow avoiding cancer and neurodegeneration as well as improving cellular lifespan and health span.”

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Both biomarker (Lymphocyte / monocyte ratio) and epigenetic clock (GrimAge) measurements done 6 months after the clinical trial ended suggested trial subjects’ aging phenotypes had been reset:

An environmental signaling paradigm of aging explained:

“Apart from being slowed down or sped up, the body clock can also be reset. Organisms, organs, and their cells can be reset to different age-phenotypes depending on their environment.

This is not so much a principle as an application of principle that the environment determines age-phenotype.”

There wouldn’t be a potential payoff for a company to study any broccoli compound / aging connections. People can achieve clinically relevant, daily doses of broccoli sprouts for < $500 a year.

What sponsor would be interested enough to put sulforaphane research on the clock?

Presentation topics are continued in Uses of the lymphocytes to monocytes ratio and A review of sulforaphane and aging. This pilot trial’s follow-on clinical trial was updated in The next phase of reversing aging and immunosenescent trends.