"The highlight of the study is that we identified a food that, if eaten regularly, might potentially have an effect on the cause of a lot of gastric problems and perhaps even ultimately help prevent stomach cancer," says Fahey.

The discovery that sulforaphane is a potent antibiotic against H. pylori was reported in 2002 by Fahey and colleagues at Johns Hopkins. "Broccoli sprouts have a much higher concentration of sulforaphane than mature heads," Fahey explains, adding that further investigation is needed to affirm the results of this clinical trial and move the research forward.

Classified a carcinogen by the World Health Organization, H. pylori is a gastrointestinal tract germ that manages to thrive in the lining of the stomach despite the strength of natural acids there that rival that of car batteries.

Afflicting several billion people -- roughly half of the world's population -- this corkscrew-shaped bacterium has long been associated with stomach ulcers, which now are frequently cured by antibiotics.

Research strongly suggests that the bacteria also are linked to high rates of stomach cancer in some countries, that strains resistant to standard antibiotics are prevalent, and that multiple courses of standard antibiotics do not always eliminate the infection.

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Editor:Yang Jie