Could eating broccoli sprouts help a pregnant woman protect the brain of her developing fetus?
That's a question the University of Alberta's Jerome Yager wants to answer. He is investigating whether the diet of expectant mothers - in particular the consumption of foods like broccoli sprouts that are rich in potent antioxidants - can reduce brain injuries that occur in the womb.
These injuries are usually to the white matter that connects different parts of the brain. They can occur when the developing fetus doesn't get enough oxygen or nutrients through the placenta and they lead to disorders like cerebral palsy.
In at least 80 per cent of cases, cerebral palsy is the result of brain injuries that occur before birth, says Dr. Yager, a pediatric neurologist and research scientist.
"Since most injuries occur before birth, we need to look at something that is preventative, rather than rescue or repair,'' he says. Antioxidants can help protect cells from damage.
He found diet made a difference for laboratory animals. He studied rats that didn't get enough oxygen or nutrients in the womb because of damage to the placenta. In one group, their mothers had eaten a normal diet. In the second group, the animal's diet had been rich in broccoli sprouts. There were significantly fewer white matter injuries in the second group.
"They do much better than pups with the same injury but no sprouts," says Dr. Yager, who presented his findings in May at a scientific conference in Vancouver. He is hoping to eventually do a clinical trial in humans.
The work, he says, is at too early a stage to make specific recommendations regarding what pregnant women should eat.