Microgreens and sulforaphane: what the research actually shows
The Microgreens World research database holds 150+ papers that measure sulforaphane or the plant compounds that become it. Here is what they tested, what they found, and where the evidence stops.
The short answer
- Broccoli microgreens carry glucoraphanin, the plant compound your body turns into sulforaphane. One study measured about the same amount as in broccoli sprouts. Bouranis 2023
- Only one study has tested them in people: 11 healthy adults ate one serving, and sulforaphane by-products showed up in their urine. Bouranis 2023
- How you grow them changes the amount. Blue LED light, a mild salt spray and a calcium spray each raised it in trials. Kopsell 2013 Resmisari 2025 Sun 2015
- No study so far shows that eating microgreens prevents or treats any disease.
What is sulforaphane?
Here’s the catch most labels skip. Sulforaphane isn’t sitting in the plant, ready to go.
Broccoli stores a calm, stable compound called glucoraphanin. It belongs to a family of plant chemicals called glucosinolates. When you cut or chew the leaves, an enzyme in the plant called myrosinase reaches the glucoraphanin and turns it into sulforaphane. No chewing, no sulforaphane.
That’s why most papers measure glucoraphanin or total glucosinolates, not sulforaphane itself. And it’s why what happens in your kitchen matters as much as what happens in the tray. I cover the kitchen side in a separate guide: Are you losing most of your sulforaphane before you eat?
Which microgreens have sulforaphane?
Broccoli is the one to know. Its main glucosinolate is glucoraphanin, the one that becomes sulforaphane Demir 2023, and it shows up in more of these papers than any other crop.
Other microgreens in the cabbage family carry close cousins of sulforaphane, not sulforaphane itself. They’re worth eating. Just don’t expect the same compound.
| Microgreen | Main compounds measured | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | Glucoraphanin, which becomes sulforaphane | Demir 2023 |
| Radish | Glucoraphenin and glucoraphasatin, a different pair | Demir 2023 Luang-In 2020 |
| Mustard | Sinigrin, which becomes allyl isothiocyanate (the bite in mustard) | Alrifai 2021 Saengha 2020 |
| Kale | High in glucobrassicin | Di Bella 2021 |
| Red cabbage, red mustard | Highest total glucosinolates of 14 cabbage-family microgreens tested | Bafumo 2024 |
In that same 14-crop comparison, broccoli and radish had the highest levels of isothiocyanates, the family sulforaphane belongs to Bafumo 2024. Variety matters too. Two broccoli varieties grown side by side made different amounts of glucoraphanin Di Bella 2021.
Do microgreens beat grown-up broccoli?
For this compound family, the evidence leans yes. A 2025 review found that cabbage-family sprouts and microgreens hold more glucosinolates than the mature vegetables Michalczyk 2025. Against broccoli sprouts, the one human study measured about the same glucoraphanin in broccoli microgreens Bouranis 2023. So think of microgreens as a match for sprouts, not a giant leap past them.
Has anyone tested it in people?
Yes, once. Broccoli sprouts have been through many clinical trials. Broccoli microgreens have had one feeding study so far.
Sulforaphane bioavailability in healthy subjects fed a single serving of fresh broccoli microgreens
What they found
- 11 healthy adults ate one serving of fresh broccoli microgreens.
- The microgreens held about as much glucoraphanin as broccoli sprouts, and it stayed stable over time.
- Sulforaphane breakdown products showed up in urine, in a pattern like people who eat broccoli sprouts.
- One serving did not change the mix of gut bacteria.
What it can’t tell you
- It was one serving, not weeks of eating.
- It had 11 people.
- It measured whether sulforaphane gets into the body, not whether it changes health.
That’s a solid first step. It shows your body can get sulforaphane from broccoli microgreens. It doesn’t show what that does for you over time. Selling broccoli microgreens? The broccoli guide turns this study into what you can tell a customer.
Can you grow microgreens with more sulforaphane?
This is where most of the research lives. Growers and labs have pushed glucosinolate levels up with light, stress and sprays. Here’s what worked, and what it cost.
| What they did | What changed | Trade-off | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 days of blue LED light before harvest | Glucoraphanin went up in broccoli | Needs LED control | Kopsell 2013 |
| LEDs at 20% blue, 80% red | Highest glucoraphanin of five light setups | Old fluorescent and incandescent bulbs gave the lowest levels | Kopsell 2014 |
| Blue LED light | Glucoraphanin and total glucosinolates up in broccoli | Results differed by crop. Cabbage did best under red plus blue | Demir 2023 |
| Brighter light (70 vs 50 µmol) | More glucosinolates at 70 | Plants grew the most at 50 | Gao 2021 |
| Daily salt water spray (75 mM) | Sulforaphane 2.3 times higher than plain water | Shorter, lighter, paler plants | Resmisari 2025 |
| Calcium chloride spray (10 mM) | Glucoraphanin and other glucosinolates up | An extra step before harvest | Sun 2015 |
| A small dose of UV-B light before harvest | Glucosinolates up about 14 to 17 percent | Needs a UV-B lamp | Lu 2021 |
| Coco coir with young coconut water | Sulforaphane doubled in red cabbage | A small conference study | Septirosya 2024 |
| Harvesting a few days later | No difference in glucosinolates | Yield was best at about 75% true leaves | Ortiz 2024 |
Does storage, drying or digestion change it?
- Cold storage. Broccoli microgreens treated with UV-B before harvest kept their glucosinolates fairly steady through 21 days of cold storage Lu 2021.
- Drying. Radish microgreens dried at 45 °C or 65 °C held on to glucoraphenin, their main glucosinolate. At 95 °C it dropped by 21 percent Jauregui 2025.
- Digestion. In a lab model of digestion, the share of glucosinolates released ranged from 2 percent in kale to 43 percent in kohlrabi microgreens Tomaş 2021. What’s in the leaf isn’t all that reaches you.
What the research doesn’t show yet
I’d rather you hear this from me than find it out later.
- Most health findings come from cells in dishes. Extracts of radish and mustard microgreens slowed cancer cells in lab tests Luang-In 2020 Saengha 2020. Cells in a dish are not people.
- There’s one human study, with one serving and 11 people Bouranis 2023. Nobody has followed people eating microgreens for weeks and measured a health result.
- There’s no set amount to eat. No study in the database has set a daily amount of microgreens for sulforaphane.
- Your tray isn’t their tray. Levels shift with variety, light, stress and timing, so a number from a paper or a label may not match what you grow.
Key papers to start with
Eight papers that carry most of the weight on this page. Each title opens the paper at the publisher.
Sulforaphane bioavailability in healthy subjects fed a single serving of fresh broccoli microgreensStudy in people
The only feeding study. Sulforaphane from one serving showed up in urine and stool.
Increases in shoot tissue pigments, glucosinolates, and mineral elements in sprouting broccoli after exposure to short-duration blue light from light emitting diodes
Five days of blue light before harvest raised glucoraphanin. The most cited paper on this topic in the database.
Sprouting broccoli accumulate higher concentrations of nutritionally important metabolites under narrow-band light-emitting diode lighting
A 20% blue, 80% red LED mix gave the most glucoraphanin.
Effect of LED lights on the growth, nutritional quality and glucosinolate content of broccoli, cabbage and radish microgreens
Blue light raised glucoraphanin in broccoli. Cabbage did best under red plus blue.
Optimal Brassicaceae family microgreens from a phytochemical and sensory perspective
Fourteen cabbage-family microgreens compared for compounds and taste.
Effects of growing cycle and genotype on the morphometric properties and glucosinolates amount and profile of sprouts, microgreens and baby leaves of broccoli and kale
Variety and growth stage both changed the glucosinolate mix.
Environmental stress and sulforaphane accumulation: an innovative approach in cultivating broccoli microgreens for sustainable functional food
A moderate salt spray more than doubled sulforaphane, at a cost in plant size.
Preharvest UVB application increases glucosinolate contents and enhances postharvest quality of broccoli microgreens
A small UV-B dose raised glucosinolates, and they held through cold storage.
Newest papers on this topic
- Newest papers load from the research database.
Questions people ask
Do broccoli microgreens have more sulforaphane than broccoli?
For the compound family behind sulforaphane, sprouts and microgreens hold more than the grown vegetable, per a 2025 review. Against broccoli sprouts, the one human study found about the same amount of glucoraphanin in broccoli microgreens.
Which microgreens have sulforaphane?
Broccoli is the main one. Its key glucosinolate, glucoraphanin, is the one that becomes sulforaphane. Radish, mustard and kale carry related compounds instead, such as glucoraphenin, sinigrin and glucobrassicin.
How much broccoli microgreens should I eat for sulforaphane?
No study has set an amount. The only human study fed one serving to 11 healthy adults and checked whether sulforaphane got into the body. It did not test a daily amount or a health result.
Does heat destroy it?
The key papers here didn’t test cooking broccoli microgreens. In radish microgreens, drying at 95 °C cut the main glucosinolate by 21 percent. Drying at 45 and 65 °C did not. For kitchen tips, see the sulforaphane guide.
Can I raise sulforaphane in microgreens I grow at home?
Lab trials raised it with blue LED light, a mild salt spray and a calcium chloride spray. Most ran in grow chambers, and stronger stress gave smaller plants. Light results don’t always repeat from study to study.
Keep reading
Sources
- Bouranis, Wong, Beaver, et al. (2023). Sulforaphane bioavailability in healthy subjects fed a single serving of fresh broccoli microgreens. Foods. doi.org/10.3390/foods12203784
- Kopsell & Sams (2013). Increases in shoot tissue pigments, glucosinolates, and mineral elements in sprouting broccoli after exposure to short-duration blue light from light emitting diodes. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. doi.org/10.21273/jashs.138.1.31
- Kopsell, Sams, Barickman, et al. (2014). Sprouting broccoli accumulate higher concentrations of nutritionally important metabolites under narrow-band light-emitting diode lighting. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. doi.org/10.21273/jashs.139.4.469
- Demir, Sarıkamış & Çakırer Seyrek (2023). Effect of LED lights on the growth, nutritional quality and glucosinolate content of broccoli, cabbage and radish microgreens. Food Chemistry. doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.134088
- Gao, He, Shi, et al. (2021). Differential effects of low light intensity on broccoli microgreens growth and phytochemicals. Agronomy. doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11030537
- Resmisari, Mardiana, Dewi, et al. (2025). Environmental stress and sulforaphane accumulation: an innovative approach in cultivating broccoli microgreens for sustainable functional food. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1574/1/012016
- Sun, Kou, Geng, et al. (2015). Metabolomic assessment reveals an elevated level of glucosinolate content in CaCl2 treated broccoli microgreens. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. doi.org/10.1021/jf504710r
- Lu, Dong, Yang, et al. (2021). Preharvest UVB application increases glucosinolate contents and enhances postharvest quality of broccoli microgreens. Molecules. doi.org/10.3390/molecules26113247
- Septirosya, Septiana, Oktari, et al. (2024). Sulforaphane content enhancement of red cabbage microgreens by using different planting media and nutrition solution. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1302/1/012016
- Ortiz, Zhu, Shakoomahally, et al. (2024). Effects of harvest day after first true leaf emergence of broccoli and radish microgreen yield and quality. Technology in Horticulture. doi.org/10.48130/tihort-0023-0031
- Di Bella, Toscano, Arena, et al. (2021). Effects of growing cycle and genotype on the morphometric properties and glucosinolates amount and profile of sprouts, microgreens and baby leaves of broccoli and kale. Agronomy. doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091685
- Bafumo, Alloggia, Ramírez, et al. (2024). Optimal Brassicaceae family microgreens from a phytochemical and sensory perspective. Food Research International. doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2024.114812
- Alrifai, Mats, Liu, et al. (2021). Effect of combined light-emitting diodes on the accumulation of glucosinolates in Brassica microgreens. Food Production, Processing and Nutrition. doi.org/10.1186/s43014-021-00072-y
- Luang-In, Saengha, Karirat, et al. (2020). Effect of cold plasma and elicitors on bioactive contents, antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of Thai rat-tailed radish microgreens. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.10985
- Saengha, Karirat, Buranrat, et al. (2020). Cold plasma treatment on mustard green seeds and its effect on growth, isothiocyanates, antioxidant activity and anticancer activity of microgreens. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology. doi.org/10.17957/ijab/15.1715
- Michalczyk (2025). Methods of modifying the content of glucosinolates and their derivatives in sprouts and microgreens during their cultivation and postharvest handling. International Journal of Food Science. doi.org/10.1155/ijfo/2133668
- Jauregui, Warren, Di Gioia, et al. (2025). Effects of hot air drying on the nutritional and phytochemical composition of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) microgreens. Journal of Food Science. doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.70426
- Tomaş, Zhang, Zengin, et al. (2021). Metabolomic insight into the profile, in vitro bioaccessibility and bioactive properties of polyphenols and glucosinolates from four Brassicaceae microgreens. Food Research International. doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.110039
Read the papers yourself
Every paper behind this page sits in the Microgreens World research database. Open any one to read its abstract and go straight to the full text.
Search the sulforaphane papersThis page summarizes published research for education. It is not medical advice and is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Talk with a qualified health professional about your own health.
