Cruciferous vegetables Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Cabbage plants

Edible plants in the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae) are termed Cruciferous vegetables. For a botanical description of plants in this family (whether or not used for food), see Brassicaceae. Ten of the most common vegetables eaten by people are in a single species (B. oleracea), and are not distinguished from one another taxonomically, but only by the horticultural category of cultivar groups. Numerous other genera and species in the family are also edible. Cruciferous vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide. Widely considered to be healthful foods, they are high in vitamin C and soluble fibre and contain multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties: diindolylmethane, sulforaphane and selenium. Both diindolylmethane, sulforaphane, and many other sharp-tasting substances in these vegetables are produced from substances called glucosinolates.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that 3,3'-Diindolylmethane in Brassica vegetables is a strong androgen receptor antagonist in human prostate cancer cells.^[1]

Cruciferous vegetables can potentially be goitrogenic (inducing goiter formation). They contain enzymes that interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone.^[2][3] Cooking for 30 minutes significantly reduces the amount of goitrogens and nitriles. At high intake of crucifers, the goitrogens inhibit the incorporation of iodine into thyroid hormone and also the transfer of iodine into milk by the mammary gland.^[4]

Cruciferous vegetables have recently been implicated in some pharmacological drug interactions. These vegetables are powerful inducers of the microsomal cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP1A2, which is responsible for the metabolism of many pharmacological agents^[5]. By causing induction of the enzyme, it may incidentally increase the rate of phase I transformations (see pharmacokinetics) of pharmocological agents that are normally metabolized by this enzyme, expediting the process of drug metabolism. This, in turn, could produce drug plasma concentration that is less than the desired therapeutic range.

List of cruciferous vegetables

Extensive selective breeding has produced a large variety of cultivars, especially within the genus Brassica. One description of genetic factors involved in the breeding of Brassica species is the Triangle of U.

The taxonomy of common cruciferous vegetables

common name	genus	specific epithet	Cultivar Group
kale	Brassica	oleracea	Acephala Group
collard greens	Brassica	oleracea	Acephala Group
Chinese broccoli (kai-lan)	Brassica	oleracea	Alboglabra Group
cabbage	Brassica	oleracea	Capitata Group
brussels sprout	Brassica	oleracea	Gemmifera Group
kohlrabi	Brassica	oleracea	Gongylodes Group
broccoli	Brassica	oleracea	Italica Group
broccoflower	Brassica	oleracea	Italica Group × Botrytis Group
broccoli romanesco	Brassica	oleracea	Botrytis Group / Italica Group
cauliflower	Brassica	oleracea	Botrytis Group
wild broccoli	Brassica	oleracea	Oleracea Group
bok choy	Brassica	rapa	chinensis
komatsuna	Brassica	rapa	pervidis or komatsuna
mizuna	Brassica	rapa	nipposinica
Rapini (broccoli rabe)	Brassica	rapa	parachinensis
flowering cabbage	Brassica	rapa	parachinensis
chinese cabbage, napa cabbage	Brassica	rapa	pekinensis
turnip root; greens	Brassica	rapa	rapifera
rutabaga	Brassica	napus	napobrassica
siberian kale	Brassica	napus	pabularia
canola/rapeseed	Brassica	rapa/napus	oleifera
wrapped heart mustard cabbage	Brassica	juncea	rugosa
mustard seeds, brown; greens	Brassica	juncea
mustard seeds, white	Brassica (or Sinapis)	hirta
mustard seeds, black	Brassica	nigra
tatsoi	Brassica	rosularis
ethiopian mustard	Brassica	carinata
radish	Raphanus	sativus
daikon	Raphanus	sativus	longipinnatus
horseradish	Armoracia	rusticana
wasabi	Wasabia	japonica
rocket (arugula)	Eruca	vesicaria
watercress	Nasturtium	officinale
garden cress	Lepidium	sativum