A three-year study has that a natural chemical found in a common green vegetable can reduce the formation of harmful blood clots that can in some instances lead to stroke – and also improve the performance of clot-busting drugs after a stroke.
The study, undertaken by the Heart Research Institute in Australia and published in the peer reviewed journal ACS Central Science found that a natural compound found broccoli can help dissolve blood clots and improve the action of a common clot-busting drug.
Stroke is the leading cause of acquired disability and the 3rd leading cause of death in Ireland, a 2020 analysis by the Irish National Audit of Stroke (INAS) found – with approximately 6000 strokes admitted to Irish hospitals per year. “While stroke is looked upon as a disease of the older person, over a quarter of the cases were aged under 65 years,” the audit found, adding that “57% of all cases were male”.
About 85 per cent of strokes are caused by the formation of a harmful blood clot in the brain (also known as acute ischaemic stroke), the Australian Heart Research Institute said.
Drugs which work as a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) – called a thrombolytic agent because it breaks up blood clots that get in the way of blood flow – are currently used to treat stroke.
However, tPA can be a double-edged sword, the study’s lead researcher Dr Xuyu Liu, said: “by clearing blood clots, it also means a patient has an increased risk of bleeding in the brain should they need emergency surgery.”
“We are looking for clues in nature to find this magic anti-clotting drug which can work where it’s needed but also still allow patients to have antithrombotic treatments,” he explained last year.
Now the research he led has found that the natural chemical in broccoli, sulforaphane, may improve the performance of tPA and could lead to newer, safer, and more effective medications for acute stroke.
“After a patient has an ischaemic stroke, they are treated with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a type of clot busting medication to slow down the progression of damage to the brain. Unfortunately it is only successful in 20 per cent of cases,” Dr Liu explained.
“What we found in a preclinical trial is that the tPA success rate increases to 60 per cent when the medication is given with the broccoli-derived compound. Excitingly, this naturally occurring compound does not cause any signs of bleeding, which is a common side effect associated with blood-thinning agents tested in stroke treatment.
“This means we could see paramedics treating ischaemic stroke patients with a broccoli-based medication as well as tPA on the way to hospital,” he said.
The initial testing also showed that once the broccoli-derived molecules were administered they were also able to slow down the onset of a stroke.
“Not only is the broccoli compound effective in improving the performance of clot-busting medication after a stroke, it could be used as a preventative agent for patients who are at a high risk of stroke,” said Dr Liu.
He said the broccoli breakthrough was the work of 25-year-old PhD student Ivy Guan, who works in the research team under the guidance of Dr Liu.
Ms Guan said it’s satisfying to make a discovery that has the potential to make such a difference.
“I was originally attracted to this project because I have a strong interest in the use of natural products as medicine,” she said.
“A lot of the research I do is very limited to the lab, but this is something that can go out to the world and can impact people in normal, daily life and encourage people to be healthier.”
The research team is now turning its attention to clinical trials, with the possibility of a new preventative and anti-clotting treatment for stroke being available in as little as five years.
Dr Liu believes the drug may have a wider use in diseases where blood clotting or thrombosis has a role.
“We are very excited at having isolated a natural compound that may have huge beneficial effects. Our studies will keep exploring how highly purified compounds from vegetables may have beneficial effects in disease processes.
“We want to understand how nature is giving us gifts to improve our health. Already we have discovered another compound from a different vegetable that looks promising in thrombotic diseases,” Dr Liu said.