Lifestyle Sports: Latest from Food Politics: Industry-funded study of the week: a broccoli sprouts' supplement

By Marion Nestle

March 23 2026

Industry-funded study of the week: a broccoli sprouts’ supplement

The study: Efficacy of 42-month oral administration of glucoraphanin in preventing cognitive decline in individuals at elevated risk of dementia, including those with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Frontiers in Nutrition. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2026.1740494

Objective: This study evaluated the long-term efficacy of glucophoranin (GLR) supplementation on cognitive function in older adults at an elevated risk for Alzheimer’s, including those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: In a 42-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 26 participants aged 63–90 years with memory impairment were randomly assigned to receive either 30 mg/day of GLR (n = 13) or placebo (n = 12). The primary outcome was the change in Memory Performance Index (MPI) scores from the MCI Screen.

Results: The GLR group showed greater improvement in MPI scores compared to the placebo (p = 0.012). No significant group difference was observed in the initial 6 months, but a marginal difference in favor of GLR appeared in the later phase (30 and 42 months), including the 42-month endpoint (p = 0.079). The GLR group demonstrated superior performance on immediate recall and delayed free recall tests (p < 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). MCI participants showed a greater MPI improvement with GLR (p = 0.029).

Conclusion: Long-term GLR supplementation may help preserve cognitive function in individuals at elevated risk for AD, particularly those with MCI. Larger trials are warranted to confirm efficacy and clarify underlying mechanisms.

Funding: The author(s) declared that financial support was received forthis work and/or its publication. The study was funded byKAGOME CO., LTD. (Tokyo, Japan). ….

Conflict of interest: This study was funded by KAGOME CO., LTD. The funder was involved in the study design, analysis and the interpretation of data.SSh, HS, and SSu were employed by KAGOME Co., Ltd. The remaining author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that couldbe construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Comment: Kagome, no surprise, makes glucoraphanin supplements. Glucoraphanin is derived from sulforaphane, a compound in broccoli sprouts long associated with cncer prevention. I wrote a paper about this years ago.

From the standpoint of cancer research policy, information about the role of each nutrient and phytochemical is of vital interest; such information may well explain why diet-related cancer risks vary across different sites and among individuals and populations. The effects of single anticarcinogenic phytochemicals, however, no matter how well characterized, cannot be understood in isolation, just as the anticarcinogenic effects of single nutrients cannot be understood except as part of an overall dietary pattern.

Never mind. Kagome, no surprise, sells sulforaphane supplements. This is a classic example of an industry-funded study, conducted by industry employees, producing results favorable to the sponsor’s interests.

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