In the study, rats were injected with human prostate tumors. And they were fed powdered tomato and dried broccoli. Used also in the study was finasteride, a drug that shows to slow the benign growth of the prostate.

The study found that the rats use diets with tomatoes and or broccoli get the smaller tumors. The diet with both tomatoes and broccoli is most effective and finasteride is least effective in slowing the tumor growth.

Tomatoes are known for its anti-cancer properties. Lycopene is believed to be the major active component in tomatoes that is responsible for the anti-cancer activity.

Anti-cancer bioactivity has been reported in broccoli. It's believed that glucosinolates may be responsible.

The study was conducted by Dr. John Erdman and colleagues at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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About The Author

John Roberts is a freelance writer for foodconsumer.com