ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03390855SPROUTvsFATUpdated Jan 4, 2018

Effects of the Consumption of Broccoli Sprouts in Overweight Subjects

An interventional study of Broccoli sprouts in Obesity and Inflammation, sponsored by Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia. Completed. Open to participants aged 35 Years to 55 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2018-01-04.

Sponsored by Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 2 years 10 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Feb 2015, registered Dec 2017).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
35 Years to 55 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Nowadays there is an increasing demand by consumers on healthy food products prepared in convenient forms, simple to use and not containing additives. In this sense, broccoli sprouts (Brassica oleraceae var. italica) represent an interesting choice as they are rich in glucosinolates, nitrogen-sulfur compounds, that are believed to counteract the negative effects of diverse pathologies.

Human studies have been focused on the antitumoral properties of these vegetables, however there is less evidence on the anti-inflammatory properties of cruciferous vegetables in humans.

As obesity is linked to an inflammatory component, the aim of the study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory action of broccoli sprouts in overweight adult subjects.

Read the detailed description

We performed an interventional follow-up study to evaluate the effect of the daily consumption of broccoli sprouts during 10 weeks (70 days). The study was conducted at the Catholic University of Murcia under supervision of Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC).

The study was performed according with the Helsinki Declaration of Human Studies and approved by the Ethical Committee of the Catholic University of Murcia as well as the Bioethics Sub-Committee of the CSIC' Department of Ethics for the AGL-2013-46247-P project. Volunteers (n=40; 21 M, 19 W) were recruited in the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM) and all of them were informed on the characteristics of the study and they signed the written-informed consent. Dietetic and life style habits were recorded from all participants. There were no drop-outs during the whole period of study and no adverse effects were reported due to the broccoli sprout ingestion.

One week before the beginning of the intervention period, subjects were asked to avoid the consumption of Brassica vegetables (broccoli, radish, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, mustards, among others) and their derived products, and to follow a well-balanced diet (based on Mediterranean diet), with no other food restriction criteria. These dietary instructions were maintained during the entire period of study. Besides, they were requested to record any sign of adverse effect, illness or deviation of the experimental diet. The subjects maintained their usual lifestyles during the study.

On the first day, participants were given the portions of fresh broccoli sprouts to be taken for the whole week (7 trays of broccoli sprouts of 30 g each) and each week they had an appointment to provide them the fresh products. The intervention consisted on a 10-week period which included daily consumption of a portion (30 g) of raw, fresh broccoli sprouts. This amount is consistent with a half- serving according to WHO. Subjects were instructed to ingest 1 tray per day and to keep the trays refrigerated (4º C) at home. The intake of the broccoli sprouts was included in their normal daily diet and no specific time of consumption was established, with the only limitation of avoid cooking of the sprouts and to consume them fresh. Cooking procedures can affect the content of glucosinolates as well as their bioavailability and therefore some recipes were provided to the participants to facilitate the intake of the sprouts without affecting the phytochemical composition and absorption. After the intervention period, a follow-up recovery period for all subjects continued for other 90 days with no ingestion of broccoli sprouts.

Fasting blood samples and 24-h urine samples were taken on day 0 (jst before starting the intervention), day70 (end of intervention period), day 90 (20 days after end of intervention) and day 160 (90 days after end of intervention). Blood samples were collected from each subject by venipuncture from the antecubital vein; 3 mL were placed in heparin tubes and centrifuged at 10000 rpm for 10 min at 4ºC. Plasma was aliquoted and stored at -80ºC until analysis. Analysis were performed once each period was finished and in the same batch to minimize analytical variations. The total volume of the 24h-urine was recorded to calculate the absolute amounts of the compounds and metabolites excreted in the study period and aliquots were frozen at -80ºC for further analysis. Body weight and percentage of fat mass were measured as well and BMI calculated in each sampling time point.

Markers of inflammation as IL-6, C-reactive protein, IL-1β and TNF-α in plasma were determined in our laboratory using high-sensitivity ELISA kits.

Levels of glucosinolates, isothiocyanates and their metabolites were measured in urine by a rapid, sensitive and high throughput UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS.

02

Conditions studied

  • Obesity
  • Inflammation

Keywords

  • IL-6
  • Glucosinolate
  • Brassica oleracea
  • Sulphoraphane
  • Biomarkers
  • Bioavailability
  • Inflammation
03

In context

Obesity

11,522 studies on the registry are indexed under Obesity; 2,033 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 40 is below the median of 67 across 9,006 interventional studies indexed under Obesity.

Browse Obesity studies →

Lead sponsor

Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia is the lead sponsor of 138 studies on the registry; 18 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
35 Years to 55 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

within the overweight range according to the World Health Organization criteria (24.9-29.9 kg/m2), aged 35-55 years, taking no vitamins, supplements or medication during the previous two months; no-smoking.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Diagnosed diseases as hypertension and cardiovascular pathologies, diabetes, hepatic, gastrointestinal and renal diseases, as well as the intake of drugs related to these pathologies, vegetarian diet, pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Broccoli sprout and follow up

    Daily consumption of 30 g of raw, fresh, broccoli sprouts, not cooked, during 10 weeks (70 days), followed by other 90 days of no ingestion of broccoli sprouts

    Other: Broccoli sprouts

Interventions

  • OtherBroccoli sprouts
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in IL-6 levels

    Plasma levels of IL-6 measured at days 0, 70, 90 and 160 days of intervention

    Time frame: Changes observed from baseline at day 0 compared to 70, 90, 160 days

  2. Change in C-reactive protein

    Plasma levels of C-reactive protein measured at days 0, 70, 90 and 160 days of intervention

    Time frame: Changes observed from baseline at day 0 compared to 70, 90, 160 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. Bioavailability of glucosinolates from broccoli sprouts

    24 h-urine levels of glucosinolates and their metabolites measured by UHPLC-MS/MS

    Time frame: Changes observed from baseline at day 0 compared to 70, 90, 160 days

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Publications

  • Baenas N, Villano D, Garcia-Viguera C, Moreno DA. Optimizing elicitation and seed priming to enrich broccoli and radish sprouts in glucosinolates. Food Chem. 2016 Aug 1;204:314-319. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.02.144. Epub 2016 Feb 26. PubMed 26988507 ↗
  • Baenas N, Suarez-Martinez C, Garcia-Viguera C, Moreno DA. Bioavailability and new biomarkers of cruciferous sprouts consumption. Food Res Int. 2017 Oct;100(Pt 1):497-503. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.07.049. Epub 2017 Jul 21. PubMed 28873713 ↗
  • Lopez-Chillon MT, Carazo-Diaz C, Prieto-Merino D, Zafrilla P, Moreno DA, Villano D. Effects of long-term consumption of broccoli sprouts on inflammatory markers in overweight subjects. Clin Nutr. 2019 Apr;38(2):745-752. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Mar 13. PubMed 29573889 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 4, 2018, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03390855
Collaborators
National Research Council, Spain
Responsible party
Débora Villaño (Proffesor, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 4, 2018
Start date
Feb 2015
Primary completion
Jul 2016
Completion
Jul 2017
Last update
Jan 4, 2018

Study contacts

Diego Ángel Moreno Fernández, PhD
principal investigator · National Research Council, Spain

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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