Broccoli compound could offer obese diabetics a drug-free way to slash blood sugar levels

Love it or hate it, Swedish scientists have found another reason for you to load up on broccoli, or at least finish what's on your plate. As it turns out, sulforaphane, a powerhouse antioxidant found in the vegetable, could be Nature's secret weapon against type 2 diabetes, offering obese patients a way to slash their blood glucose levels and fight the disease. 

While metformin is the industry standard for controlling blood glucose, the drug is not suitable for everyone, in particular those with reduced kidney function, which affects 15 percent of those with the disease. In addition, it has been reported to cause side-effects such as nausea, bloating, abdominal pain, or diarrhea in some 30 percent of patients who take it.

In their search for an alternative therapy, researcher Annika Axelson of the University of Gothenburg and her colleagues decided to use a different tactic. Instead of targeting an individual gene or protein, they focused on identifying the genes responsible for the liver's elevated glucose production, a key disease mechanism.

By analyzing the liver tissue of diabetic mice that had been fed a high-fat diet, they eventually identified a network of 50 genes responsible for causing increased blood glucose levels. This was then matched against different compounds for drugs that could potentially reverse the disease. Of the 2,800 substances that they investigated, one stood out: sulforaphane.

This is not the first time sulforaphane has been in the health spotlight. Found in cruciferous greens such as broccoli and cabbage (though if you want to get the most bang for your bite, broccoli sprouts are the way to go), the compound is known for its cancer-fighting and anti-inflammation properties. However hardly anything was known about its effect on type 2 diabetes until now.