Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-28-2026

Keywords

cruciferous vegetables, glucoraphanin, gut-brain axis, microbial metabolites, neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation, plant-based nutrition, sulforaphane

Abstract

Diet is increasingly recognized as a potential upstream modulator of the gut-brain axis (GBA) through its effects on the microbiome, microbial metabolites, and host immune and endocrine responses. The GBA is a complex, bidirectional network connecting the gastrointestinal tract and central nervous system, with diet influencing microbial community structure and metabolic output. Plant-based diets, such as Mediterranean and MIND, have been associated with increased production of anti-inflammatory microbial metabolites and improved barrier function, while high calorie/low nutrient diets are often linked to increased immune activation and barrier dysfunction. However, while microbial metabolites, especially short-chain fatty acids, indoles, bile acids, and isothiocyanates, have been proposed as mediators of neuroprotective effects, their role in neurodegenerative diseases remains an area of active investigation, with evidence largely derived from preclinical and associative human studies. Cruciferous vegetables, especially broccoli sprouts, are an emerging focus of research for their bioactive compound sulforaphane, which activates Nrf2-centered cytoprotective pathways. Animal and early human studies suggest sulforaphane can improve cognitive and behavioral outcomes, though larger clinical trials are needed. Personalized, microbiota-targeted dietary interventions may offer scalable strategies for managing neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions, and we emphasize the need for integrated research across diet, microbiome, and brain health.

Comments

10.3389/fnins.2026.1815972

Publisher Attribution

© 2026 Reynolds, Glenn, Lavoie, Ishaq and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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