Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say a compound derived from broccoli sprouts can help adjust the chemical imbalances in the brain that have been linked to schizophrenia. The vegetable’s high levels of the chemical sulforaphane could potentially be used as an alternative to antipsychotic drugs and their often painful or dangerous side effects.
“It’s possible that future studies could show sulforaphane to be a safe supplement to give people at risk of developing schizophrenia as a way to prevent, delay or blunt the onset of symptoms,” says Akira Sawa, director of the Johns Hopkins Schizophrenia Center.
In a study published in January in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, researchers measured the brain regions of 81 people who recently suffered their first episode of psychosis. On average, those patients had 4 percent less of the chemical glutamate in certain regions of their brain, compared to healthy people.
For a separate study published in April in Molecular Neuropsychiatry, researchers found that taking two capsules of sprout-extracted sulforaphane daily for a week increased the average glutathione levels of human volunteers by approximately 30 percent.
Significantly, the volunteers reported only mild side effects, like gas and some stomach upset, as opposed to the involuntary movements, or “shakes” and increased cardiovascular risk associated with current schizophrenic medication.
Scientists say that while more research is needed, they’re encouraged by the findings.
“For people predisposed to heart disease, we know that changes in diet and exercise can help stave off the disease, but there isn’t anything like that for severe mental disorders yet,” says Thomas Sedlak, director of Johns Hopkins’ Schizophrenia and Psychosis Consult Clinic.
“We are hoping that we will one day make some mental illness preventable to a certain extent.”