Cruciferous vegetables

This article is about the use of Brassicaceae as food. For a botanical description of plants in this family (whether or not used for food), see Brassicaceae.

Cabbage plants

Cruciferous vegetables are vegetables of the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae). These vegetables are widely cultivated, with many genera, species, and cultivars being raised for food production such as cauliflower, cabbage, garden cress, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts and similar green leaf vegetables. The family takes its alternate name (Cruciferae, New Latin for "cross-bearing") from the shape of their flowers, whose four petals resemble a cross.

Ten of the most common cruciferous vegetables eaten by people, known colloquially as cole crops, are in a single species (Brassica oleracea); they are not distinguished from one another taxonomically, only by horticultural category of cultivar groups. Numerous other genera and species in the family are also edible. Cruciferous vegetables are one of the dominant food crops worldwide. They are high in vitamin C and soluble fiber and contain multiple nutrients and phytochemicals.

List of cruciferous vegetables

Extensive selective breeding has produced a large variety of cultivars, especially within the genus Brassica. One description of genetic factors involved in the breeding of Brassica species is the Triangle of U.

The taxonomy of common cruciferous vegetables

common name	genus	specific epithet	Cultivar group
Horseradish	Armoracia	rusticana
Land cress	Barbarea	verna
Ethiopian mustard	Brassica	carinata
Kale	Brassica	oleracea	Acephala group
collard greens	Brassica	oleracea	Acephala Group
Chinese broccoli (gai-lan)	Brassica	oleracea	Alboglabra Group
Cabbage	Brassica	oleracea	Capitata Group
Savoy cabbage	Brassica	oleracea	Savoy Cabbage Group
Brussels sprouts	Brassica	oleracea	Gemmifera Group
Kohlrabi	Brassica	oleracea	Gongylodes Group
Broccoli	Brassica	oleracea	Italica Group
Broccoflower	Brassica	oleracea	Italica Group × Botrytis Group
Broccoli romanesco	Brassica	oleracea	Botrytis Group / Italica Group
Cauliflower	Brassica	oleracea	Botrytis Group
wild broccoli	Brassica	oleracea	Oleracea Group
bok choy	Brassica	rapa	chinensis
Komatsuna	Brassica	rapa	pervidis or komatsuna
Mizuna	Brassica	rapa	nipposinica
Rapini (broccoli rabe)	Brassica	rapa	parachinensis
Choy sum (Flowering cabbage)	Brassica	rapa	parachinensis
Chinese cabbage, napa cabbage	Brassica	rapa	pekinensis
Turnip root; greens	Brassica	rapa	rapifera
Rutabaga (swede)	Brassica	napus	napobrassica
Siberian kale	Brassica	napus	pabularia
Canola/rapeseed	Brassica	rapa/napus	oleifera
Wrapped heart mustard cabbage	Brassica	juncea	rugosa
Mustard seeds, brown; greens	Brassica	juncea
White mustard seeds	Brassica (or Sinapis)	hirta
Black mustard seeds	Brassica	nigra
Tatsoi	Brassica	rosularis
Wild arugula	Diplotaxis	tenuifolia
Arugula (rocket)	Eruca	vesicaria
Field pepperweed	Lepidium	campestre
Maca	Lepidium	meyenii
Garden cress	Lepidium	sativum
Watercress	Nasturtium	officinale
Radish	Raphanus	sativus
Daikon	Raphanus	sativus	longipinnatus
Wasabi	Wasabia	japonica

Research

Cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates which are under basic research for their potential properties and may reduce the risk of some types of cancer.

Drug and toxin metabolism

Chemicals contained in cruciferous vegetables induce the expression of the liver enzyme CYP1A2. Furthermore some drugs such as haloperidol and theophylline are metabolized by CYP1A2. Consequently consumption of cruciferous vegetables may decrease bioavailability and half-life of these drugs.

Brassicaceae contain a number of compounds under preliminary research for their potential hepato-protective properties. Alliaceous and cruciferous vegetable consumption may induce glutathione S-transferases, uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyl transferases, and quinone reductases all of which are potentially involved in detoxification of carcinogens such as aflatoxin. High consumption of cruciferous vegetables has potential risk from allergies, interference with drugs like warfarin and genotoxicity.

Taste

People who can taste phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), which is either very bitter or tasteless, are less likely to eat cruciferous vegetables, due to the resemblance between isothiocyanate (ITC) and PTC.

Contraindications

Goiter

Cruciferous vegetables can potentially be goitrogenic (inducing goiter formation). They contain enzymes that interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone in people with iodine deficiency. Cooking for 30 minutes significantly reduces the amount of goitrogens and nitriles. At high intake of crucifers, the goitrogens inhibit the incorporation of iodine into thyroid hormone and also the transfer of iodine into milk by the mammary gland.

Nursing

Brassica species may cause baby colic in breast-feeding, although the evidence for this is not strong.