Sinapis alba

Anticancer, antioxidant, anti-toxin

This seed spice native to the Mediterranean region is derived from several varieties of mustard plant, each of which produces seeds of a different intensity and flavor. All mustard plants belong to the brassica family that also includes horseradish, wasabi, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, rocket, garden cress and watercress.
In addition to being valued internationally as spices and foods, brassicas have a notable history of use in traditional medicines. Mustard, for example, has been used to relieve headaches, as an emetic, for colds and flu and to treat arthritis. More recently, interest in the brassicas’ medicinal properties has focused on broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage that have been shown to have tremendous anticancer properties. However, because the members of this plant family contain the same phytochemicals, such protective qualities are likely to be common to all of the brassica species.


Important Phytochemicals

Antioxidants: Benzoic acid, caffeic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, sinapic acid, vanillic acid

Others: Indole-3-carbinol, isothiocyanates (most importantly the isothiocyanate, sulphorane)


Medicinal Properties

Cancer
Brassicas comprise one of the most important groups of cancer preventing plants, both in terms of their diversity and efficacy. Not only do they help to protect against a variety of malignancies, including cancer of the pancreas, prostate, breast, stomach and colon, but as little as two or three servings per month may be enough for their anticancer properties to take effect. The prophylactic properties of this plant family have been attributed principally to several compounds, the most important of which are indole-3-carbinol and the isothiocyanate group of chemicals.

Antioxidants
Brassicas exhibit antioxidant effects through both direct and indirect mechanisms. In addition to several antioxidant phytochemicals that mop up free radicals themselves, they contain compounds that enhance the activity of both ingested and internally produced antioxidants. Sulphorane, for example, although not an antioxidant itself is an effective inducer of internally produced enzymes that, in turn, enhance the activity of the crucial intracellular antioxidant, glutathione. Sulphorane also catalyzes the production of the powerful antioxidant bilirubin.

Antimicrobial properties
Although the primary focus of research into the brassicas has been in relation to their anticancer properties, they have also been shown to possess strong antimicrobial properties against a variety of bacteria and fungi. Brassicas cooked or steeped with contaminated meat for only ten minutes significantly reduce the bacterial counts in the meat, and they are likely to exhibit similar valuable effects against other food-borne pathogens.