Broccoli useful in Crohn's disease

LONDON: Eating broccoli and bananas could help prevent relapses of Crohn's disease, bringing relief to tens of thousands of sufferers, researchers revealed today.

The chronic condition inflames the lining of the digestive system causing diarrhoea and stomach cramps.

There are currently 90,000 people in the UK living with the disease, although campaigners believe this number could be higher.

The incidence of Crohn's is rising worldwide and is most common in developed countries like the UK, where the typical diet is low in fibre and high in processed foods.

Countries such as Japan saw a rapid rise in cases, blamed on the introduction of a 'Western diet'.

The latest research, from The University of Liverpool, tested a range of soluble plant fibre to judge their effect on Crohn's disease.

Soluble plant fibre is the kind which comes out of vegetables when they are boiled in water.

The study found that soluble fibre from plantain (a close relative of the banana) and broccoli specifically stopped the bacteria E.coli from crossing into cells in the intestine.

Professor Jonathan Rhodes who worked on the study, said: 'What's interesting about this paper is that it shows, for the first time, that soluble plant fibre is able to stop bacteria from finding its way through the lining of the intestine.'

Plantain and broccoli soluble fibre reduced transmission of E.coli by between 45 per cent and 82 per cent.

Fibre from leek and apple had no effect while fat emulsifiers increased transmission of the bacteria.

The laboratory research, published in the journal Gut, was confirmed in tissue samples taken from patients undergoing surgery for other gut disorders.

Prof Rhodes and his colleagues are now carrying out a clinical trial involving 76 sufferers of Crohn's to test the effect in people.

'It may be that it makes sense for sufferers of Crohn's to take supplements of these fibres to help prevent relapse,' he said.

The authors noted that India and Central America, where plantains form an central part of the diet, have low rates for inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer.