Sunday’s BBC Countryfile programme on October 25 includes a feature on a variety of broccoli bred to contain higher levels of a compound called glucoraphanin.

This broccoli, called Beneforté, is now being grown commercially in the UK and around the world and is available in a number of leading supermarkets in the UK including Asda and M&S.

Beneforté was bred, using conventional techniques, by Professor Richard Mithen at the John Innes Centre, and Professor Mithen is continuing his work on broccoli by studying potential health benefits of the broccoli, and glucoraphanin, at the Institute of Food Research.

Research from human trials with 130 volunteers, and published earlier this year, showed that including this broccoli in the diet for 12 weeks reduced the levels of LDL-cholesterol by an average of about 6%.

You can find out more about the science behind broccoli, glucoraphanin, and the development of Beneforté on our website http://www.superbroccoli.info/