Broccoli sprouts for all Diabetes and some COPD

This blog is about translating existing medical research into therapy for autism, but quite often the same research has clear application to other conditions.

Very often those conditions include diabetes, a common severe form of asthma (COPD - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and of course cancer.

Some readers of this blog are already applying some of these insights to improve their diabetes and indeed COPD. Type 2 diabetes is becoming very common and so more interest is being shown in better managing it. Sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts should benefit people with both Type1 and Type 2 diabetes, as more people are beginning to realize.

Cancer is a complex subject with many different molecular variants, but much of the science that needs to be applied is shared with autism. If you could master PAK1, RAS, PTEN, BCL2, P2X7, NRF2 etc you would be well placed to treat variants of both conditions. There is a surprising overlap between the existing drugs being repurposed for some autism and those being considered for some cancer (statins, metformin, propranolol, ivermectin etc.).

5 kilograms of broccoli in a pill slashes diabetics’ blood sugar

A chemical called sulforaphane, found in broccoli sprouts, has previously demonstrated an ability to reduce glucose levels in diabetic rats. Anders Rosengren of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and his colleagues wondered whether the same might be true for humans. To test the theory, his team gave 97 people with type 2 diabetes a concentrated dose of sulforaphane every day for three months, or a placebo. All but three people in the trial continued taking metformin. Those who didn’t take metformin were able to control their condition relatively well without it.

The concentration of sulforaphane given was around 100 times that found naturally in broccoli. “It was the same as eating around five kilograms of broccoli daily,” says Rosengren.

On average, those who received the broccoli extract saw their blood glucose reduce by 10 per cent more than those on the placebo. The extract was most effective in obese participants with “dysregulated” diabetes, whose baseline glucose levels were higher to start with.

Journal reference:

Sulforaphane reduces hepatic glucose production and improves glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes

COPD is relevant to autism because it is epigenetic and features oxidative stress interfering in important biological processes, so there are some parallels with types of autism.

Broccoli helps clear damaged lungs

To ensure that the lungs function correctly, white blood cells called macrophages remove debris and bacteria that can build up in the lungs and cause infection.

This cleaning system is defective in smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a combination of emphysema and bronchitis – who suffer from frequent infections.

Now, researchers have figured out that a chemical pathway in the lungs called NRF2, involved in macrophage activation, is wiped out by smoking. They also found that sulforaphane, a plant chemical that is made by broccoli, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables when damaged, such as when chewed, can restore this pathway.

Journal reference:

Targeting Nrf2 signaling improves bacterial clearance by alveolar macrophages in patients with COPD and in a mouse model

Broccoli Powder without the Taste

In this blog I make a point of not promoting non-generic products, except when they have some special features.  This was the case with sustained release NAC, which does seem to be a much better product than the gelatin capsules.

In the case of broccoli powder and Sulforaphane, there was some testing done that showed most products sold in the US do not actually produce any Sulforaphane.  Small doses of broccoli powder do indeed seem to have a positive effect in some people’s autism and even on insulin sensitivity in people with diabetes.  We assume this is down to sulforaphane, but even that is not certain, there are other interesting substances in broccoli

In the Johns Hopkins research on sulforaphane they use a deep frozen product made in the lab that is not commercially available.  The research was initially in cancer, but does now extend to autism.

We saw in earlier posts that that some broccoli powders have retained the necessary enzymes needed to produce Sulforaphane in your body. You can always add back the enzyme that got destroyed in processing, using Daikon radish, which is similar to what happens in Johns Hopkins lab process.

One producer, whose product I have not used, has come out with a new product that will be interesting to people whose child does not swallow pills and hates the taste of broccoli.

The producer keeps writing to me to tell me that their product produces the most sulforaphane.  What would be nice would be independent testing of several products currently on the market.

EnduraCell  PomGenex 300g Powder

·            “Delicious tasting, all natural blend of three of Nature’s most highly-prized plant foods; Pomegranate Juice, Coconut Water and 100% Whole Nutraceutical Grade Broccoli Sprouts”

Their broccoli powder is called EnduraCell and the more child friendly drink is called PomGenex.

You can buy their products in Australia and from their US distributor.

Anyone trying it is very welcome to leave their feedback here.

Sulforaphane Research in Japan – Cognitive Deficits and Schizophrenia

Kagome is a very large Japanese food company that you have never heard of, with an R&D team capable of producing standardized stable Sulforaphane- glucosinolate.   

I recently received some papers about Sulforaphane from a reader of this blog and also comments from people with schizophrenia looking for therapies

Sulforaphane is already a valued part of my autism Polypill for Monty, aged 12 with ASD.  Just google "Sulforaphane Epiphany", or use the site index tab on this blog.

Sulforaphane has been patented for various purposes by John Hopkins, however even after twenty years they have not brought to market a standardized product.  The Sulforaphane (SFN) used in their research is made in the lab and then has to be kept deep frozen.

Sulforaphane is not a stable substance and so you are wasting your money buying most supplements.  Even most types of broccoli powder, which should be a precursor to Sulforaphane (SFN), were shown to be ineffective in independent lab tests.

In Japan it seems they are far more advanced, they already have a standardized SFN-glucosinolate tablets, no mention of the need to keep them frozen.

Japanese Sulforaphane (SFN) research

What is interesting in the Japanese research into cognitive deficits in schizophrenia is that SFN shows has both prophylactic and therapeutic effects.  This suggests that even if there is no immediate benefit from taking SFN in some people, there may be some long term preventative/protective benefits.

Dietary Intake of Sulforaphane-Rich Broccoli Sprout Extracts during Juvenile and Adolescence Can Prevent Phencyclidine-Induced Cognitive Deficits at Adulthood

Oxidative stress and inflammation play a role in cognitive impairment, which is a core symptom of schizophrenia. Furthermore, a hallmark of the pathophysiology of this disease is the dysfunction of cortical inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons expressing parvalbumin (PV), which is also involved in cognitive impairment. Sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate derived from broccoli, is a potent activator of the transcription factor Nrf2, which plays a central role in the inducible expressions of many cytoprotective genes in response to oxidative stress. Keap1 is a cytoplasmic protein that is essential for the regulation of Nrf2 activity. Here, we found that pretreatment with SFN attenuated cognitive deficits, the increase in 8-oxo-dG-positive cells, and the decrease in PV-positive cells in the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus after repeated administration of phencyclidine (PCP). Furthermore, PCP-induced cognitive deficits were improved by the subsequent subchronic administration of SFN. Interestingly, the dietary intake of glucoraphanin (a glucosinolate precursor of SFN) during the juvenile and adolescence prevented the onset of PCP-induced cognitive deficits as well as the increase in 8-oxo-dG-positive cells and the decrease in PV-positive cells in the brain at adulthood. Moreover, the NRF2 gene and the KEAP1 gene had an epistatic effect on cognitive impairment (e.g., working memory and processing speed) in patients with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that SFN may have prophylactic and therapeutic effects on cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Therefore, the dietary intake of SFN-rich broccoli sprouts during the juvenile and adolescence may prevent the onset of psychosis at adulthood.

  

An Open Study of Sulforaphane-rich Broccoli Sprout Extract in Patients with Schizophrenia

After giving written informed consent, participants received 3 tablets of SFN prepared by Kagome Co., Ltd. (Nagoya, Japan), totaling 30 mg of SFN-glucosinolate per day, for 8 weeks. It is known that SFN-glucosinolate is metabolized to SFN in the body.

Objective

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by severe cognitive impairment. Accumulating evidence suggests a role for oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Sulforaphane (SFN) extracted from broccoli sprout is an agent with potent anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the effect of SFN on cognitive impairment in medicated patients with schizophrenia.

Methods

We recruited a total of 10 outpatients with schizophrenia, all of whom gave informed consent. Participants took 3 tablets of SFN, consisting of 30 mg of SFN-glucosinolate per day, for 8 weeks. Clinical symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and cognitive function using the Japanese version of CogState battery were evaluated at the beginning of the study and at week 8.

Results

A total of 7 patients completed the trial. The mean score in the Accuracy component of the One Card Learning Task increased significantly after the trial. However, we detected no other significant changes in participants.

Conclusion

This result suggests that SFN has the potential to improve cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.

   

I do get comments from people with schizophrenia on this blog and there is clearly a big overlap between some schizophrenia and some autism.  More and more therapies are being shown to be effective in both; it seems to be the SFN is one of those therapies.

What would be nice would be a commercially available, standardized product that genuinely could be relied upon to produce SFN in the body.  The Japanese appear to have already mastered this.  No need for Johns Hopkins patents.

For the time being, I am happily using my Supersprouts broccoli sprout powder which does indeed seem to produce SFN.  If one day they stop making it, I have already found that you would just need to add heat stable myrosinase (in the form of daikon radish root) to otherwise ineffective broccoli sprout powder.

For those of you who tried other products claiming to contain/produce SFN, and found them ineffective, you do not know whether the child does not respond to SFN, or your product produced none.

  

Conclusion

SFN really does look worth a try, or perhaps even a second try for those who tried one of those “false” supplements.  Price does not always indicate quality.

One day I hope that the Japanese firm Kagome, chooses to sell its SFN tablets worldwide and not just their tomato ketchups and juices.  

Broccoli soup at school – washed down with a little grapefruit juice

A growing number of readers have discovered the remarkable effects of a specific preparation of broccoli sprout powder.  It was my suggested method to match the Sulforaphane, made in the lab at Johns Hopkins, and recently trialed with great results in young adults with autism.

I did mention to therapists working with Monty, aged 11 with ASD, what a surprise there would be at the local special school if they served up some extra-potent broccoli soup for lunch one day.  There would be some very bemused teachers and parents.  It would also be the world's cheapest randomized trial on 100 people and the fastest. (you would just have to note down who actually ate the soup, but I think it would be obvious later)

Since another reader stumbled upon the anti-oxidant capability of grapefruit juice the other day, I would add some of that to the school lunch.  Preferably pink grapefruit, since they also would have a dose of lycopene, another potent antioxidant.

As fate would have it, a trial is underway with a jar of the aforementioned broccoli powder.  It is not at the local special school, but at a private center for speech & behavioral therapy.  

A reader of this blog has told someone else, who then tried it on their child and now someone else has bought a jar to try on the children at the center.

Of course, in a litigious country, nobody would dream of doing this; but in some countries, common sense still prevails.

I do hope the center keeps a note of who tried it and what the effects were, so we can have some statistics.  The good thing is that because it is so fast-acting, the therapist will observe the effects unfolding within the very same session.

Since the main effects are on mood and speech, a speech therapist is probably the best person to observe and quantify the effect.

In the kind of children who attend such centers, where autism is a disability rather than a difference, I think the response rate with be really high.  I would guess 70+%.  If they want to write up a report, I will be delighted to post it on this blog.

Anyway, I give them 10 out of 10 for initiative.

PolyPill Reformulated

One reader of this blog, who found that 2.5ml of the Australian broccoli sprout powder, I suggested in an earlier post, works wonders for her son (40 minutes after the first dose), asked if I was going to include it in my Polypill.

Then yesterday Monty’s assistant at school asked to take some powder to try on another small child with ASD.  Today she tells me that the same positive result was repeated, in half an hour.

So I decided it is time to update the PolyPill.

I did tell the researcher, I was in touch with at John’s Hopkins, that it appears you can reliably make Sulforaphane at home, without your own laboratory and a deep freezer.  I think they somehow prefer things to be complicated and hard to access.

It does amaze me how people are not adopting, even super-safe, ideas that might help their child.  Many tens of thousands of parents affected by ASD must have read the stories in their newspapers about Broccoli (Sulforaphane) and autism.  How come almost nobody has made it work at home? Or at least, that is what it seems like if you look on Google.  People write about having read about it.  They usually then say, “ah well, Johns Hopkins say it does not work at home and you need a standardized dose”.

Sometimes you need to think for yourself.

Behind all this is the belief that “doctor” always knows best.  Most people are terrified of “experimenting” on their child.  Those that actually do this, are nearly exclusively in the US, with their DAN doctors.  They seem to give up after a year or two and accept whatever is left of the autism.

By the time the child is older and the parents are less worried about them trying drugs, they have given up and accepted the “inevitable”.

Reader feedback

When I started this blog, I rather optimistically expected to join forces with many other motivated, scientifically knowledgeable, parents.

This blog is visited 10,000 times a month, but I can count on two hands the number of people that have acted on it and shared their experience on/off line.  There have been some really great outcomes, which is wonderful for those concerned. (great outcomes = big improvements)

Without wanting to be biblical, but having recently sat through the film, Pulp Fiction, with Monty’s older brother, this does sum things up nicely:-

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”

It just might take you a lot more work than you expected.

PolyPill

Regular readers will have noticed that the Polypill is my formulation for treating classic early-onset autism.  It is a combination of the clever ideas of others, some developed a little further, and some ideas of my own, based on the literature.

Many drugs and supplements have some impact on autism.  Some make it better, some make it worse, but most have no effect whatsoever.

Drugs and supplements can have side effects and they can react with each other.  So it is wise to use only those with a major impact.

Broccoli Sprout Powder

The most surprising ingredient I have tested is freeze dried broccoli powder from Australia.  Who would have thought that 2.5ml of this green powder would have an effect on autism.  But it does, and without any of the extra myrosinase, that I had expected to need. Johns Hopkin’s version is a deep frozen product, made after reacting broccoli sprouts with daikon radish sprouts in the laboratory.

All of people working with Monty, aged 11 with ASD, have noticed the difference, so it really is not a placebo effect

Incremental changes

·        Much more unprompted speech (> 50% increase)

·    He started to talk to animals and continues to do

·     He opened the car window to say hello and good bye to someone he recognized passing by – totally unheard of behavior

·        Increased awareness and presence of his surroundings

·        Now, while the TV news is on, Monty is reading aloud the news ticker at the bottom of the screen.  Before, the TV news was just “wallpaper”, unless there were some explosions  or other excitement.

·        Improved mood and mild euphoria

·        The broccoli powder still produces euphoria

·        In other people it may just improve mood

The good news is that Broccoli really is more of a food than a drug and so should not be harmful; although all kinds of things can interact in strange ways.  For example, vitamin C with cinnamon is not a good idea.

Method of action

As usual, I do like to know how and why things work.

The broccoli sprouts contain many substances, at least two of which might be involved:-

1.     Indole-3-carbinol (I3C).  I3C has some extremely interesting properties for both cancer and autism.  I3C up-regulates a protein called PTEN, encoded by the PTEN gene.  PTEN is an “autism gene”.

2.     Sulforaphane (SFN) is the chemical that John’s Hopkins think is the “active” ingredient of broccoli.

SFN is an activator of Nrf2, a “redox switch”.  This release of Nrf2 has a known on/off effect on about 300 genes involved in the response to oxidative stress.

SFN is also an HDI, or an inhibitor of HDAC (Histone Deacetylase)

HDIs have a long history of use in psychiatry and neurology as mood stabilizers and anti-epileptics.

Interestingly, we learn from Wikipedia:- 

“To carry out gene expression, a cell must control the coiling and uncoiling of DNA around histones. This is accomplished with the assistance of histone acetyl transferases (HAT), which acetylate the lysine residues in core histones leading to a less compact and more transcriptionally active chromatin, and, on the converse, the actions of histone deacetylases (HDAC), which remove the acetyl groups from the lysine residues leading to the formation of a condensed and transcriptionally silenced chromatin. Reversible modification of the terminal tails of core histones constitutes the major epigenetic mechanism for remodeling higher-order chromatin structure and controlling gene expression. HDAC inhibitors (HDI) block this action and can result in hyperacetylation of histones, thereby affecting gene expression.”

So it looks like those little broccoli sprouts might be initiating some very clever science, perhaps even some primitive gene therapy.

Conclusion

There are still plenty more ideas waiting to test, so there will no doubt be more updated versions of the PolyPill in future.

It does look like there may be more food ingredients and not just drugs, which is not what I expected.

Dr Dolittle, Autism and the Broccoli Sprouts

In the Dr Dolittle books and subsequent films, a man develops the power to communicate with animals.  It seems that one effect of broccoli sprout powder (and we assume Sulforaphane), in autism,  is an urge to talk, not only to humans, but also to animals.

Monty, aged 11 with ASD, took his first dose of 2.5ml of broccoli powder (Supersprouts brand from Australia) and after about half an hour developed euphoria.  The laughter later subsided and throughout the day he was very talkative.  This was relevant speech and not repeating things he had heard previously.  Other than the euphoria, which is the word chosen by elder brother Ted, a nice development was the desire to communicate with the animal world.

After a visit to his favourite ice cream shop, he looked up and saw the big railway bridge. “Bye bye railway station” commented Monty.  Walking up the hill we first passed a kitten, playing by the verge, “Hello baby kitten! Bye bye baby kitten!”  Then a big dog appeared “Hello big white dog and a woman! Bye bye big white dog and woman!”.  This was all rather unexpected.

The next day, another 2.5ml of broccoli powder and the same result.  Euphoria and lots of talking.

Then I decided to start experimenting with the dose.  I gave 1.25ml three times a day.

After the breakfast dose, no euphoria but still plenty of speech.  After lunch, the second dose and the return of mild euphoria.  After the evening dose, more euphoria.  The half-life of Sulforaphane in people is claimed to be about two hours.

Based on this limited experience, I think 2.5ml is about right.  There is no need for more.

  

Cost

I paid AU$ 110 (US$ 95 or GBP 60) for 300g of broccoli powder including shipping.

2.5ml of powder weighs 1.1g.  So using that daily dose of 2.5ml the cost would be 35 US cents (22 UK pence).

My earlier assumption was that a dose of about 18 g of fresh sprouts would produce the required level of Sulforaphane.  In theory, this would be 3 ml of broccoli powder, if it had 100% of the right enzymes in it and none of the bad stuff (called ESP, from the last post).  I was quite surprised at the effect of 2.5ml.  Johns Hopkins told me that most broccoli powders are no good; that is why I looked around before choosing the Australian product.

As a dosage comparison, this supplement is sold in Australia with a suggested daily dose of 5g, which equates to about 11 ml. 

So my “autism dose" looks quite conservative.  I think even half the suggested adult dose would make Monty completely hyper.

Note that the dose of the anti-oxidant NAC used in autism trials is 4X the usual adult dose of NAC and 2X the adult dose for adults with COPD (severe asthma).

The effect on an adult

I tried a scaled up dose myself, but sadly no euphoria followed.

  

Note

Monty is already taking a potent anti-oxidant called NAC, which has been investigated in an autism trial at Stanford.

The broccoli sprouts produce a substance called Sulforaphane (SFN).  This substance activates Nrf2 which upregulates “phase II enzymes”; they increase the body’s antioxidant response.  SFN is also an inhibitor of HDAC (Histone Deacetylase) and this may give SFN the ability to target aberrant epigenetic patterns.

SFN is therefore a secondary anti-oxidant.  It has been shown to improve the body’s response to cancer and environmental toxins.  The chemoprotective properties may result from SFN’s epigenetic properties or the anti-oxidant properties.

SFN was shown in a recent study at Johns Hopkins to improve autism in young adults.  It is not known definitively why it was effective.

Conclusion

My experiment indicates that, in classic autism, Sulforaphane (SFN) does provide a marked and immediate benefit over NAC alone, which is what I set out to determine.

Australian broccoli sprout powder appears to be a relatively cheap and effective way to make SFN at home. 

Sulforaphane, Epithiospecifier Proteins (ESP) or just Sulforadex for Autism

  

One reader of the last post on Sulforaphane raised the issue of whether she should cook her broccoli sprouts, to optimize her autism therapy.

This seemed a bit strange, since even the researchers at Johns Hopkins are eating their sprouts raw.  She does have a valid point.  It seems that while sprouts have large amounts of glucoraphanin and the required enzyme myrosinase, they also have something called Epithiospecifier Protein (ESP).  If there is much ESP present, instead of Sulforaphane you get a very similar compound called Sulforaphane Nitrile.  You can see that the “S” has been replaced by an “N”.

All is not lost, for those of you with sprouts growing in the kitchen.

Further research showed that the concentration of ESP in the sprouts peaks on the second day and that by day 5 has dropped dramatically.

It was also showed that raising the temperature of the sprouts to 60 degrees Celsius deactivated the ESP.  Heating Broccoli florets much beyond this then reduced the Sulforaphane produced, but not heating the sprouts.

Heating decreases epithiospecifier protein activity and increases sulforaphane formation in broccoli.

Abstract

Sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate from broccoli, is one of the most potent food-derived anticarcinogens. This compound is not present in the intact vegetable, rather it is formed from its glucosinolate precursor, glucoraphanin, by the action of myrosinase, a thioglucosidase enzyme, when broccoli tissue is crushed or chewed. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that sulforaphane yield from glucoraphanin is low, and that a non-bioactive nitrile analog, sulforaphane nitrile, is the primary hydrolysis product when plant tissue is crushed at room temperature. Recent evidence suggests that in Arabidopsis, nitrile formation from glucosinolates is controlled by a heat-sensitive protein, epithiospecifier protein (ESP), a non-catalytic cofactor of myrosinase. Our objectives were to examine the effects of heating broccoli florets and sprouts on sulforaphane and sulforaphane nitrile formation, to determine if broccoli contains ESP activity, then to correlate heat-dependent changes in ESP activity, sulforaphane content and bioactivity, as measured by induction of the phase II detoxification enzyme quinone reductase (QR) in cell culture. Heating fresh broccoli florets or broccoli sprouts to 60 degrees C prior to homogenization simultaneously increased sulforaphane formation and decreased sulforaphane nitrile formation. A significant loss of ESP activity paralleled the decrease in sulforaphane nitrile formation. Heating to 70 degrees C and above decreased the formation of both products in broccoli florets, but not in broccoli sprouts. The induction of QR in cultured mouse hepatoma Hepa lclc7 cells paralleled increases in sulforaphane formation.

So it would seem that if you want to eat the sprouts raw, you need to wait for five days before consuming them.  Not good to eat them when two days old.

If you cook them, you do risk affecting the myrosinase and then you might need to add back some more from another source, just as Nicole mentioned in her comment.  But some research implies the sprouts are heat stable.

This all starts to get rather complicated.

Personally I decided to buy freeze dried broccoli sprout powder from Australia.  They claim to measure for ESP, and there is very little.  Their myrosinase has not been deactivated in processing.

If true, their product is near ideal.  Is say near ideal, because one spoonful also has the taste of a plateful of broccoli.

Mine has now arrived and so I will serve one level teaspoonful a day.

Other research actually suggested that Daikon radish may be event better than broccoli.  Johns Hopkins chose to patent the broccoli.  In their research compound, they reacted broccoli sprouts with daikon radish sprouts to make a standardized Sulforaphane which is then freeze dried and kept frozen.

RADISH SPROUTS VERSUS BROCCOLI SPROUTS: A COMPARISON OF ANTI-CANCER POTENTIAL BASED ON GLUCOSINOLATE BREAKDOWN PRODUCTS

Comparison of bioactive phytochemical content and releaseof isothiocyanates in selected brassica sprouts

Daikon powder is readily available and is a potent source of heat stable myrosinase.

So I will seek to get the optimal output from my Australian sprout powder by adding a dash of Daikon powder.

A better way?  Sulforadex

This kitchen chemistry may all seem rather haphazard and indeed it is.

Rather than try and make 8 mg of Sulforaphane in your kitchen, would it not be better to buy 8 mg of standardized heat stable Sulforaphane in the pharmacy?

Sulforadex is potentially exactly that; it is an analog of Sulforaphane.  Trials have started in humans and at very much higher doses to check for toxicity and side effects.

Here is a link to the Phase 1 trial:-

http://www.richmondpharmacology.com/downloads/Publications/Evgen-BPS-poster-tiny-web.pdf

The only questions I have are:- is anyone 100% certain that Sulforaphane is the only beneficial compound produced by eating broccoli?  Is Sulforaphane the only compound present in Johns Hopkin’s frozen capsules?  When they react their broccoli sprouts with daikon sprouts in the lab, there are other compounds produced.

Monty, aged 11 with ASD, is by now remarkably accommodating when it comes to downing unappetizing potions.  NAC tastes pretty bad, unless you use the more expensive effervescent variety.  But this pales in comparison to what a spoonful of broccoli sprout powder tastes like (and looks like).

They also make this powder in capsule form, for those who can swallow them. 

The more appetising anti-oxidant would be a bar of high flavanol dark chocolate, as we discovered in the previous post.  As well as tasting better, it may quite possibly be just as effective.

Why not Cocoa Flavanols for Autism?