Within the research community it's long been established that isothiocyanates found in cruciferous vegetables interact with the body in a number of ways. A previously well-researched interaction was the activation of the nrf-2 system in the body - a regulator of antioxidative enzymes produced in the body.

The original research hypothesis was that this anti-oxidative effect would also be useful for people conducting intense exercise. It is well-established that antioxidants can protect muscles during intense exercise - therefore it wasn’t farfetched that oxidative stress would be decreased. In addition, due to the high bioavailability of isothiocyanates compared to other potential nrf2-activators (~75% vs 1-2%), the effect was hypothesized to be strong.

In the research papers now published by Filip Larsen, and other independent researchers, it's becoming more clear how isothiocyanates regulate oxidative stress.

If protection against oxidative stress was a key hypothesis for early studies on isothiocyanates, reduced lactate during sub-max workout was less expected. The isothiocyanates present in glucosinolate-rich broccoli sprouts show indications of reducing lactate by 12% on average in early studies conducted by Michaela Sundquist at GIH, during similar sub-max training tests.

Lactate is the primary proxy scientists and athletes alike use for measuring physiological stress achieved during exercise and correlates strongly to performance. By producing a lower amount of lactate, for a fixed training session, all else equal, the body will recover faster, allowing you to tolerate more training.

Today, many of our most famous endurance athletes use lactate daily as an indicator of what intensity they should train at. By having lactate spike only moderately during training, they can optimize the intensity of their training without risking overtraining or injuries.

The basic properties of isothiocyanates, and the positive effects associated with ingesting broccoli and broccoli sprouts has been well documented for over 30 years. In addition to the novel research done at KI and GIH on their impact on improvements of physical adaption to intense exercise, there are indications that ITC:

(1) Prevent muscle atrophy in aging
(2) Protect against liver damage from alcohol consumption
(3) Detoxification of airborne pollutants (smog) in city dwellers

Many of today's studies on isothiocyanates refer to Sulforaphane, the most well-known strain of the group. nomio's I-6 contains a wide variety of isothiocyanate strains, with many less known varieties that we can only hope to know more about in the future.

Most important publications

• Sulforaphane & Exercise Protect Against Alcohol-Related Liver Damage
• Sulforaphane Reduces Liver Injury from Intense Exercise
• Chronic Sulforaphane Use Reduces Inflammation After Resistance Training
• Sulforaphane Supplement Eases Muscle Soreness Post-Exercise
• Nrf2 Activation Boosts Exercise Endurance via Muscle Redox Modulation
• Sulforaphane Protects Muscles from Exercise-Induced Damage
• Sulforaphane Prevents Age-Related Muscle Decline via Nrf2
• Broccoli Sprouts Help Detox Benzene Exposure in Humans
• Broccoli Sprout Extracts Studied in Recurrent Prostate Cancer