From Broccoli Seeds to In Vitro Assay of Biological Effects: a Pipeline for Nutritional Quality Evaluation

Assessment of nutritional value and scientific validation of health claims for (functional) foods is a very difficult and controversial task. In fact, the composition of plant derived foods is greatly influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. In addition, the interactions between various molecules within a complex food matrix must be taken into account. Finally, genotypic and experimental system variation can affect correct interpretation of the biological effects of food nutrients. The aim of this work is to develop a pipeline for the evaluation of plant food nutritional quality through the production of a highly standardized food matrix, its compositional analysis and the assessment of its nutritional value. Broccoli were chosen for this study because vegetables belonging to the Brassicaceae family (e.g. broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts) are widely consumed in the world, and are considered natural functional foods for their high content of a number of secondary metabolites with a recognized beneficial role for human health. Young seedlings (sprouts), in particular, represent enriched sources of vitamins, minerals, and health promoting bioactive substances with a higher nutritional value than adult plants. After testing different light and temperature regimes, as well as some chemical and hormonal treatments, we established both standard and inductive growth conditions potentially increasing the nutritional value of broccoli sprouts. Compositional analysis and biological testing of broccoli sprouts extracts on human Caco-2 cells, an in vitro model of intestinal function, indicates that this is a very promising approach for the evaluation of the potential health promoting effect of nutritionally improved crops.