Not many holidays in January, but—ah—happy Mel Gibson’s birthday!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Whatever you think of the hot-headed actor, all can agree: Braveheart was a great movie. That screaming blue warpaint was awesome, and it can also… cure cancer?
In ancient Britain, true blue was made from a cabbage-like plant called woad, used to dye clothes and paint faces, as William Wallace, the real Braveheart, did.
Woad naturally produces chemical weapons to stave off plant invaders. One compound, glucobrassicin, has been linked to the cancer-preventing property of broccoli.
But, says Stefania Galletti and colleagues at the Research Institute for Industrial Corps in Bologna, woad has 20 times more glucobrassicin than broccoli!
Against cancer, one day woad could be… Mel Gibson joke? A Lethal Weapon!
Reference: Galletti, S., Bagatta, M., Branca, F., Argento, S., De Nicola, G. R., Cianchetta, S., Iori, R., & Ninfali, P. (2015). Isatis canescens is a rich source of glucobrassicin and other health-promoting compounds. Journal of the science of food and agriculture, 95(1), 158–164. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.6697