Background: Brassica oleracea var. italica (broccoli), a rich source of antioxidants, can prevent various diseases and improve human health. In this study, we investigated the antioxidative effects of broccoli sprout extract on oxidative stress induced by lipopolysaccharide and cisplatin in cell and organ tissue models. Methods: Antioxidative effect of BSE was evaluated using DPPH and ABTS in RAW 364.7 cells, and effects of BSE on testes were investigated using Cisplatin-induced testicular damage model with an in vitro organ culture system. Results: The DPPH assay showed that the antioxidant activity of the alcoholic broccoli sprout extract was higher than that of the water extract. Additionally, the expression levels of antioxidation-related genes, Nrf2 , Gsr , HO-1, and catalase , were significantly increased in broccoli sprout extract-treated RAW 264.7 cells, and the extract suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Based on the results in the RAW 264.7 cell culture, the antioxidative effects of the extracts were investigated in a mouse testis fragment culture. The expression of Nrf2 , HO-1 , and Ddx4 was clearly decreased in cisplatin-treated mouse testis fragments and not in both broccoli sprout extract- and cisplatin-treated mouse testis fragments. In addition, the oxidative marker O-HdG was strongly detected in cisplatin-treated mouse testis fragments, and these signals were reduced by broccoli sprout extract treatment. Conclusions: The results of this study show that broccoli sprout extracts could serve as potential nutraceutical agents as they possess antioxidant effects in the testes.

Brassica oleracea var. italica (broccoli) is a type of cabbage that contains vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Consequently, it is used as a potential nutraceutical source for improving human health by reducing oxidative stress and inflammatory responses. Here, the effects of broccoli sprout extract (BSE) on the inflammatory response were investigated through lipopolysaccharide (LPS)- induced inflammatory mouse models. First, we found that the BSE obviously reduce NO production in RAW 264.7 cells in response to LPS stimulation in in vitro study. Pretreatment with BSE administration improved sperm motility and testicular cell survivability in LPS-induced endotoxemic mice. Additionally, BSE treatment decreased the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-a, IL-1β, and IL-6, and COX-2 in testis of LPS-induced endotoxemic mice models. In conclusion, BSE could be a potential nutraceutical for preventing the excessive immune related infertility.

In order to examine the functionality of broccoli sprout (Brassica oleracea, BS), solvent extracts were prepared and their anti-oxidative and immunomodulating activities were compared with those of broccoli (B). EtOH extracts (E) were potently higher than hot-water extracts (HW) in the antioxidant contents and radical scavenging activity. In particular, the total polyphenolic contents in addition to ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging activity were significantly higher in EtOH extract of broccoli sprout (BS-E; 9.15 mg GAE/g, 4.52 mg AEAC/g, and 1.14 mg AEAC/g) compared with that of broccoli (B-E; 7.83 mg GAE/g, 3.63 mg AEAC/g, and 0.97 mg/AEAC/g). Whereas, total flavonoid content was significantly higher in B-E (1.60 mg QE/g) than BS-E (1.43 mg QE/g). Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated using LPS-induced cell line model at a concentration of 10~100 μg/mL, in which all solvent extracts of both broccoli sprouts and broccoli were not toxic to RAW 264.7 cell lines. In anti-inflammatory activity of broccoli sprouts, EtOH extracts also showed significantly more potent activity than hot-water extracts in all sample concentrations tested. In addition, BS-E (100 μg/mL) inhibited nitric oxide (NO) and IL-6 production to 60.9% and 68.9% compared with the LPS inflammation group (without extracts), whereas B-E inhibited 49.6% and 54.9%. On the other hand, in immunostimulating activity by splenocytes and macrophages, hot-water extract showed significantly higher activity than EtOH extract. Especially, BS-HW stimulated the splenocyte proliferation (1.2-fold against saline group) and IFN-γ production (264.39 pg/mL) at 100 μg/mL, and the production of IL-6 (1.33-fold), IL-12 (1.09-fold) and TNF-α (1.49-fold) from macrophages was also significantly enhanced over broccoli. In conclusion, broccoli sprouts showed more potent anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating activity than broccoli, suggesting the possibility of using broccoli sprouts as functional food materials.