A recent study shows that broccoli might help in reducing the risk of skin cancer. On Monday, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has published the results of a research on the effect of broccoli extract on UV damaged skin.

The study was led by Dr. Paul Talalay, from the department of pharmacology and molecular sciences at the Johns School of Medicine. He has studied more than 15 years, the incidents of sulforaphane – an active compound in the broccoli extract – on mice, and had good results in preventing tumor development in these animals. So, Talalay and his colleges moved further and tried it on 6 human subjects that have volunteered to participate on this study.

The extract from broccoli sprouts was applied on skin and then exposed to UV radiation. They observed that it has reduced skin redness and damage by 37 percent compared with untreated skin. The extract helps increasing the production of protective enzymes that counteracts the UV damage. So, the researchers advise not to be considered like a sunscreen, for it doesn’t prevent penetration of UV radiation into the skin. It is just a direct mean of fortifying the skin cells to fight the effects of UV exposure.

Talalay said that "treatment with broccoli sprout extract might be another protective measure that alleviates the skin damage caused by UV radiation and, thereby, decreases our long-term risk of developing cancer".

The beneficial effect of the extract lasted even after the treatment was stopped, but also its efficiency varied widely, due to different skin sensibility.

Also, Talalay said that this study only shows that the extract is beneficial and works on humans, but "how it should be applied to humans, that require further work."

According to the National Cancer Institute, skin cancer is affecting more than 1 million Americans per year. Cancer deaths rate about 4 percent of all cancer deaths, meaning more than 10,000 deaths per year.