Nutritional Chemicals in Sprouts Help Researchers Publicize Their Work

By Dr. Elizabeth Jeffery, Dept. of Food Science and Nutrition, Univ. of Illinois

Dr Jeffery’s talk provided an overview of the many phytochemicals found in fresh fruits and vegetables, and she described the opportunities and challenges for carrying out further research.

She described some of the discoveries related to broccoli sprouts and other vegetables of the crucifer family, where there has been considerable research. Many of the benefits of the phytochemicals in the crucifers are due to their anti-oxidant effects. She provided technical information about phytochemicals and their effect on human health, and pointed out that, generally speaking, these effects may all stem from anti-inflammatory action. Inflammation is, in turn, a response of cells to certain kinds of protracted stress and irritation, and is known to contribute to cardio-vascular disease as well as cancer.

An initial step in research into health benefits of foods is through epidemiological studies: that is, surveying people’s state of health and diets in order to relate positive or negative health indicators with dietary patterns. But she cautioned that in a number of major studies of this sort, researchers were misled by what seemed to be causal factors, which were actually incidental. One example was a study which observed that people who ate more fruits and vegetables had lower incidence of certain cancers, and since most fruits and vegetables contain beta carotene (a precursor to vitamin A) it was concluded that beta carotene had anti-cancer properties. But a subsequent study found higher rates of lung cancer in subjects who were given beta carotene- so evidently the lower cancer rates from diets high in fruits and vegetables could not be attributed to beta carotene per se. However health-promoting compounds have frequently been identified by these epidemiological studies, and these same compounds or related compounds with similar health effects can be found in many plant foods, including sprouts.

Dr. Jeffery described 5 phases of research which are usually required in order to reach the point where a specific health benefit claim can be made for a particular food or ingredient. These phases increase in complexity and cost from one phase to the next.

1. Component analysis. Plants can be analyzed to determine their content of vitamins, minerals and other health promoting compounds (vitamin C, polyphenols, etc.). The cost of a single-component analysis, from several samples, might be in the neighborhood of $1,000bserving the effect. A cell culture study might cost from $5,000 – $10,000.

2. Once a correlation is found between a certain food, and a certain health benefit, a next step is cell culture. A term for this type of research is “in vitro”, which means, observations done outside the organism (in this case, humans) but instead, carried out in the controlled conditions of a lab. An example would be culturing human cells, treating them with extracts of the identified compound and observing the effect. A cell culture study might cost from $5,000 – $10,000.

3. If cell culture research shows positive indicators, the next research step is to do research with animals, since the metabolism of animals can often serve as a model for human metabolism. The cost for animal studies would start around $10,000 and could go up considerably from there.

4. The next step would be a small clinical study, where variables such as minimum and maximum intake limits would be determined. A small clinical study could cost $50,000- $100,000 and up.

5. Step five would be a large clinical study that would involve large numbers of people and relatively long periods of time, and be correspondingly much more expensive.

If all these steps are followed, and indicators are consistently positive, then it is still necessary to submit a request to the FDA for a health claim – but a content claim can be made just so long as you have the information to prove your point.

The costs for these phases of research go to pay for people, supplies, equipment, and overhead. Universities are good sources of expertise and interest, but they usually require their research faculty to find outside funding for projects.

Avenues for funding may include tax deductible gifts and grants, and there can be an advantage for companies to team up with others having similar research interests. One possible source of funds is the Small Business Innovation Research Program http://www.sbir.gov/.

Dr. Jeffery suggested that keeping up with current or already completed research should precede undertaking any new work. Researchers are often very supportive of any effort to publicize their work. Abstracts on a wide range of nutrient related research are easily available on-line (for example on Pubmed, a service of the US National Library of Medicines).

Presentation Summarized by Bob Sanderson