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Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables of the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae) with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard plant and similar green leaf vegetables. The family takes its alternative name (Cruciferae, Neo-Latin for "cross-bearing") from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross.

Ten of the most common cruciferous vegetables eaten by people, known colloquially in North America as cole crops and in the UK, Ireland and Australia as brassicas, are in a single species (Brassica oleracea); they are not distinguished from one another taxonomically, only by 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. They are high in vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients and phytochemicals.

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.

Further relationships inside the family Brassicaceae can be described by tribes, a grouping of genera (see Brassicaceae § Relationships within the family). Armoracia, Barbarea, and Nasturtium belong to the tribe Cardamineae; Brassica, Sinapis, Diplotaxis, Eruca, and Raphanus belong to Brassiceae; Lepidium belongs in Lepidieae; and finally Wasabia (Eutrema) belongs in Eutremeae.

Research

According to an umbrella review of 41 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of 303 observational studies, there is suggestive evidence for beneficial associations in gastric cancer, lung cancer, endometrial cancer, and all-cause mortality.

Cancer

Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates, which are under research for their potential to affect cancer. Glucosinolates are hydrolyzed to isothiocyanates (ITCs) by myrosinase. ITCs are being investigated for their chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects.

Drug and toxin metabolism

Chemicals contained in cruciferous vegetables induce the expression of the liver enzyme CYP1A2.

Alliaceous and cruciferous vegetable consumption may induce glutathione S-transferases, uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyl transferases, and quinone reductases all of which are potentially involved in detoxification of carcinogens such as aflatoxin. High consumption of cruciferous vegetables has potential risk from allergies, interference with drugs such as warfarin, and genotoxicity.

Taste

People who can taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is either bitter or tasteless, are less likely to find cruciferous vegetables palatable due to the resemblance between isothiocyanates and PTC.

Contraindications

Although cruciferous vegetables are generally safe for human consumption, individuals with known allergies or hypersensitivities to a certain Brassica vegetable, or those taking anticoagulant therapy, should be cautious.

References

1. Gibson AC. "Colewart and the cole crops". University of California Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 2012-11-09.
2. NCBI Taxonomy browser queries, retrieved January 3, 2022.
3. Li, YZ; Yang, ZY; Gong, TT; Liu, YS; Liu, FH; Wen, ZY; Li, XY; Gao, C; Luan, M; Zhao, YH; Wu, QJ (20 April 2022). "Cruciferous vegetable consumption and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of 41 systematic reviews and meta-analyses of 303 observational studies". Food & Function. 13 (8): 4247–4259. doi:10.1039/d1fo03094a. PMID 35352732. S2CID 247792684.
4. "Cruciferous Vegetables and Cancer Prevention". Fact Sheet. National Cancer Institute, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 7 June 2012.
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6. Murillo G, Mehta RG (2001). "Cruciferous vegetables and cancer prevention". Nutrition and Cancer. 41 (1–2): 17–28. doi:10.1080/01635581.2001.9680607. PMID 12094621. S2CID 20913797.
7. Minich DM, Bland JS (Jun 2007). "A review of the clinical efficacy and safety of cruciferous vegetable phytochemicals". Nutrition Reviews. 65 (6 Pt 1): 259–67. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.2007.tb00303.x. PMID 17605302. S2CID 4205849.
8. ^ Singh SV, Singh K (Oct 2012). "Cancer chemoprevention with dietary isothiocyanates mature for clinical translational research". Carcinogenesis. 33 (10): 1833–42. doi:10.1093/carcin/bgs216. PMC 3529556. PMID 22739026.
9. Gupta P, Kim B, Kim SH, Srivastava SK (Aug 2014). "Molecular targets of isothiocyanates in cancer: recent advances". Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 58 (8): 1685–707. doi:10.1002/mnfr.201300684. PMC 4122603. PMID 24510468.
10. Lampe JW, King IB, Li S, Grate MT, Barale KV, Chen C, Feng Z, Potter JD (Jun 2000). "Brassica vegetables increase and apiaceous vegetables decrease cytochrome P450 1A2 activity in humans: changes in caffeine metabolite ratios in response to controlled vegetable diets". Carcinogenesis. 21 (6): 1157–62. doi:10.1093/carcin/21.6.1157. PMID 10837004.
11. Kensler TW, Curphey TJ, Maxiutenko Y, Roebuck BD (2000). "Chemoprotection by organosulfur inducers of phase 2 enzymes: dithiolethiones and dithiins". Drug Metabolism and Drug Interactions. 17 (1–4): 3–22. doi:10.1515/DMDI.2000.17.1-4.3. PMID 11201301. S2CID 12338005.
12. Kensler TW, Chen JG, Egner PA, Fahey JW, Jacobson LP, Stephenson KK, Ye L, Coady JL, Wang JB, Wu Y, Sun Y, Zhang QN, Zhang BC, Zhu YR, Qian GS, Carmella SG, Hecht SS, Benning L, Gange SJ, Groopman JD, Talalay P (Nov 2005). "Effects of glucosinolate-rich broccoli sprouts on urinary levels of aflatoxin-DNA adducts and phenanthrene tetraols in a randomized clinical trial in He Zuo township, Qidong, People's Republic of China". Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 14 (11 Pt 1): 2605–13. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-05-0368. PMID 16284385.
13. Latté KP, Appel KE, Lampen A (Dec 2011). "Health benefits and possible risks of broccoli - an overview". Food and Chemical Toxicology. 49 (12): 3287–309. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2011.08.019. PMID 21906651.
14. ^ Scott O, Galicia-Connolly E, Adams D, Surette S, Vohra S, Yager JY (2012). "The safety of cruciferous plants in humans: a systematic review". Journal of Biomedicine & Biotechnology. 2012: 503241. doi:10.1155/2012/503241. PMC 3303573. PMID 22500092.
15. Wooding S, Kim UK, Bamshad MJ, Larsen J, Jorde LB, Drayna D (Apr 2004). "Natural selection and molecular evolution in PTC, a bitter-taste receptor gene". American Journal of Human Genetics. 74 (4): 637–46. doi:10.1086/383092. PMC 1181941. PMID 14997422.
    • "Bitter Truth: Humans, Chimps Developed Ability to Taste Toxic Compounds Through Separate Genetic Mutations". University of Utah. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30.

• Vegetables
• Brassicaceae