title: Comparison of bioactive phytochemical content and release of isothiocyanates in selected brassica sprouts.
abstract: The consumption of brassica sprouts as raw vegetables provides a fair amount of glucosinolates (GLs) and active plant myrosinase, which enables the breakdown of GLs into health-promoting isothiocyanates (ITCs). This study reports the determination of the main constituents related to human health found in edible sprouts of two Brassica oleracea varieties, broccoli and Tuscan black kale, and two Raphanus sativus varieties, Daikon and Sango. Radish sprouts exhibited the highest ability to produce ITCs, with Daikon showing the greatest level of conversion of GLs into bioactive ITCs (96.5%), followed by Sango (90.0%). Tuscan black kale gave a value of 68.5%, whereas broccoli displayed the lowest with 18.7%. ITCs were not the exclusive GL breakdown products in the two B. oleracea varieties, since nitriles were also produced, thus accounting for the lower conversion observed. Measuring the release of plant ITCs is a valuable tool in predicting the potential level of exposure to these bioactive compounds after the consumption of raw brassica sprouts.
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per le Colture Industriali (CRA-CIN), Via di Corticella, 133, 40128 Bologna, Italy. gina.denicola@cracin.it
authors.forename: Gina Rosalinda
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: De Nicola
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagatta
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pagnotta
authors.forename: Donato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Angelino
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gennari
authors.forename: Paolino
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ninfali
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rollin
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Iori
mesh_terms: D001937:Brassica / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development*; D058870:Food, Organic / Q000032:analysis / Q000145:classification; D006801:Humans; D017879:Isothiocyanates / Q000737:chemistry*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D017879:Isothiocyanates; D010936:Plant Extracts; C037152:isothiocyanic acid