Sprout products, such as broccoli, alfalfa, and cabbage, have positive health effects. Thus far, sprout foods have attracted attention owing to their good bioavailability. In particular, young broccoli sprouts exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer effects. They contain 100 times more chemoprotective substances than adult broccoli. This study examined the anti-inflammatory effects of freeze-dried young sprout broccoli (FD-YB) in vitro using RAW264.7 macrophage cells. The FDYB powder antioxidant ability test showed that the radical-scavenging activity and superoxide dismutase enzyme activity increased in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, FD-YB was not cytotoxic to RAW264.7 cells, and nitric oxide production decreased after the FD-YB treatment of lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, FD-YB significantly decreased the expression of inflammation-related proteins (Cyclooxygenase-2, Inducible nitric oxide synthase, and Prostaglandin E Synthase 2) and cytokines (Tumor necrosis factor- and Interleukin-6). In conclusion, FD-YB can be a potential nutraceutical for preventing and regulating excessive immune responses during inflammation.

Freeze-dried broccoli powder was incorporated into cookie dough at 5 levels (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4%, w/w) by replacing equivalent amount of wheat flour of the cookie dough. After aging and sheeting, cookies were baked at 170oC for 8 min in an oven. The baked cookies were cooled to room temperature for 1 hr and packed in airtight bags prior to all measurements. The pH and moisture content were ranged 6.74-6.90 and 2.67-4.12% (wet basis) depending on the broccoli powder level, respectively. Lightness (L*-value), redness (a*-value), and hardness decreased while yellowness (b*-value) increased significantly as the broccoli powder content increased (p<0.05). Spread factor of the control was significantly lower than that of samples containing broccoli powder regardless of the concentration (p<0.05) and increased significantly with increase in broccoli powder content (p<0.05). The broccoli concentration correlated significantly with most of properties except for pH and spread factor (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Hardness correlated negatively with moisture content (p<0.05) but correlated positively with spread factor (p<0.01).

The principal objective of this study was to develop the optimal recipe for muffins containing dried broccoli powder. In this study, broccoli powder was substituted for wheat flour in order to reduce its content. The study was conducted by determining the optimal sensory composite recipe, by preparing muffins with different levels of broccoli powder (A), sugar (B), and butter (C), by C.C.D (Central composite design) and performing sensory evaluation and analysis via RSM (Response surface methodology). The sensory measurements yielded significant values for appearance, flavor (p<0.01), texture (p<0.05), overall quality (p<0.05) and color (p<0.05), whereas instrumental measurements yielded significant values in lightness (p<0.01), redness (p<0.05), yellowness, baking loss rate (p<0.05), hardness (p<0.05), cohesiveness (p<0.01) and gumminess (p<0.05). The optimum formulations processed by numerical and graphical optimization were determined as 13.58g of broccoli powder, 92.02g of sugar, and 71.97g of butter.