Love Japanese food and hate to brush your teeth? You're in luck, says one study. Just pop some wasabi to prevent those cavities.

A Japanese scientist has found that the pungent green horseradish that's served with sushi stops tooth decay dead in its tracks.

Hideki Masuda, director of the Material Research and Development Laboratories at Ogawa & Co., Ltd., Chiba, Japan, found in laboratory studies that wasabi inhibited the growth of Streptococcus mutans, the bacterium responsible for tooth decay, by up to 100 percent.

"I was very pleased [with the finding]," Masuda said in an e-mail interview. "Wasabi is famous because it is pungent food, but it was not known to have an anti-caries effect." Caries is the medical term for cavities.

Masuda will present his findings today at the 2000 International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies.

Masuda found that the chemical compounds found in wasabi, which are called isothiocyanates, interfere with the bacteria's ability to stick to the bone and teeth. There are different types of isothiocyanates, which affect the bacteria differently, but Masuda found that some of the isothiocyanates interfered with the bacteria adhesion by nearly 100 percent.

"This is the first I've heard of it," says Dr. Stephen Wolner, a New York City dentist, but adds that the concept of bacterial adherence is an interesting one.

"If the bacteria doesn't adhere to the tissue, it's the same as killing it, and might be a milder and gentler way of solving the problem," he says.

The isothiocyanates in wasabi have already been shown to help prevent blood clots, have been found to have anti-asthmatic agents, and have been associated with cancer prevention. In addition, wasabi has antimicrobial properties, which might be why it is served as accompaniment to raw fish, called sashimi, Masuda says. He plans to continue studying the horseradish.

"The isothiocyanates have a variety of biological activity with a proportionally small amount of use," he says. "So another biological experiment is expected in the future."

Wasabi, or Wasabia japonica, is a perennial plant from the cruciferous family, which includes broccoli and cabbage. Wasabi's thick stems are ground into a pale-green paste that is served as a condiment with sushi and sashimi. It is the isothiocyanates in the wasabi that give it its distinctive smell and hot taste, Masuda says. They are the same compounds responsible for the characteristic flavors of broccoli and cabbage.

"It sounds like it makes sense," says New York City dentist Dr. Jed Kanner, of the study. "It encourages me to eat my sushi with a little more wasabi, knowing it can be a little healthier for my teeth."

(From HealthScout)