Sulforaphane (SFN) is an antioxidant that is found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli. I started paying attention to it about a week ago when I started pioglitazone (healthunlocked.com/amneasie... ), because SFN is supposed to be good for avoiding bladder cancer, as well as for liver health, and pioglitazone increases risk of bladder cancer and liver damage.
But apparently SFN is neuroprotective, easily crosses the blood-brain barrier, and is a popular supplement for MS patients to take. But it has been found to be helpful in other demyelinating diseases (sciencedirect.com/science/a... ):
> For example, [sulforaphane] has been reported to prevent the progression of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cerebral ischemia, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and psychiatric disorders via promotion of neurogenesis or inhibition of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation.
Of the above list of diseases that SFN may be helpful for, of particular interest is Huntington's disease, because mitochondrial dysfunction is a feature of HD. SFN helps on this front (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articl... ):
> SFN prevented the mitochondrial respiration dysfunction (as assessed through quantification of the consumption of O2 due to complex I) and the redox impairment caused by 4-HNE in the protein obtained from the organelles.
(Though it should be noted that is additional mitochondrial dysfunction that the above study investigates that SFN is ineffective for.)
Sulforaphane does not seem to be studied in ALD or AMN specifically yet. But has anyone in the AMN community tried it?
You can get low-ish levels sulforaphane levels from broccoli, but 10-100 times higher sulforaphane levels from broccoli sprouts (aegeandelight.com/growing-b... ). You can also buy sulforaphane supplements, but their sulforaphane levels are generally closer to broccoli than to broccoli sprouts. You can also increase your sulforaphane absorption by taking calcium at the same time.