Cruciferous vegetables


Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables of the family Brassicaceae with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, kale, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and similar green leaf vegetables. The family takes its alternative name from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross.
Ten of the most common cruciferous vegetables eaten by people, known colloquially in North America as cole crops and in Britain and Ireland as "brassicas", are in a single species ; they are not distinguished from one another taxonomically, only by horticultural category of cultivar groups. Numerous other genera and species in the family are also edible. Cruciferous vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide. They are high in vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients and phytochemicals.

List of cruciferous vegetables

Extensive selective breeding has produced a large variety of cultivars, especially within the genus Brassica. One description of genetic factors involved in the breeding of Brassica species is the Triangle of U.
common namegenusspecific epithetCultivar group
HorseradishArmoraciarusticana
Land cressBarbareaverna
Ethiopian mustardBrassicacarinata
KaleBrassicaoleraceaAcephala group
Collard greensBrassicaoleraceaAcephala group
Chinese broccoli BrassicaoleraceaAlboglabra group
CabbageBrassicaoleraceaCapitata group
Savoy cabbageBrassicaoleraceaSavoy Cabbage group
Brussels sproutsBrassicaoleraceaGemmifera group
KohlrabiBrassicaoleraceaGongylodes group
BroccoliBrassicaoleraceaItalica group
BroccoliniBrassicaoleraceaItalica group × Alboglabra group
BroccoflowerBrassicaoleraceaItalica group × Botrytis group
Broccoli romanescoBrassicaoleraceaBotrytis group / Italica group
CauliflowerBrassicaoleraceaBotrytis group
Wild broccoliBrassicaoleraceaOleracea group
Bok choyBrassicarapachinensis
KomatsunaBrassicarapaperviridis or komatsuna
MizunaBrassicarapanipposinica
Rapini Brassicarapaparachinensis
Choy sum Brassicarapaparachinensis
Chinese cabbage, napa cabbageBrassicarapapekinensis
Turnip root; greensBrassicaraparapifera
Rutabaga Brassicanapusnapobrassica
Siberian kaleBrassicanapuspabularia
Canola/rapeseedBrassicarapa/napusoleifera
Wrapped heart mustard cabbageBrassicajuncearugosa
Mustard seeds, brown; greensBrassicajuncea
White mustard seedsBrassica hirta
Black mustard seedsBrassicanigra
TatsoiBrassicarosularis
Wild arugulaDiplotaxistenuifolia
Arugula Erucavesicaria
Field pepperweedLepidiumcampestre
MacaLepidiummeyenii
Garden cressLepidiumsativum
WatercressNasturtiumofficinale
RadishRaphanussativus
DaikonRaphanussativuslongipinnatus
WasabiWasabiajaponica

Research

Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates, which are under research for their potential to affect cancer. Glucosinolates are hydrolyzed to isothiocyanates by myrosinase. ITCs are being investigated for their chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects. An example is the finding that the ITC phenethyl isothiocyanate reduced levels of the oncoprotein MCL1. Other in vitro research indicates ITCs may affect levels of the BCR-ABL fusion protein, the oncoprotein active in leukemia.

Drug and toxin metabolism

Chemicals contained in cruciferous vegetables induce the expression of the liver enzyme CYP1A2.
Alliaceous and cruciferous vegetable consumption may induce glutathione S-transferases, uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyl transferases, and s all of which are potentially involved in detoxification of carcinogens such as aflatoxin. High consumption of cruciferous vegetables has potential risk from allergies and interference with drugs such as warfarin and genotoxicity.

Taste

People who can taste phenylthiocarbamide, which is either bitter or tasteless, are less likely to find cruciferous vegetables palatable due to the resemblance between isothiocyanates and PTC.

Contraindications

Although cruciferous vegetables are generally safe for human consumption, individuals with known allergies or hypersensitivities to a certain Brassica vegetable, or those taking anticoagulant therapy, should be cautious.