Analysis of glucosinolates content in food products

Glucosinolates are mostly found in the Brassicaceae plant family, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and rapeseed, among many others. Although glucosinolates are chemically stable and biologically inactive within the plant tissue, when the vegetables are subjected to cutting, chewing, or processing, they can be converted into various degradation products such as isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, indoles, etc., due to the enzymatic reaction of myrosinase, which is responsible for their hydrolysis. The glucosinolates hydrolyzation products are characterized by their great industrial interest due to their biological activities and, consequently, their positive contribute to human health, such as protection against various pathogens, because they have antimicrobial activity and can also act as potent anticarcinogens. Glucosinolates are thermolabile compounds, being necessary to develop new methods for their preservation, such as freeze-drying, or modified atmosphere packaging, as well as new methodologies for their safe and efficient extraction. This chapter focuses on analytical tools to conduct accurate determinations of glucosinolates content of foods. The stability, extraction by different methods, detection and quantification procedures, isolation, determination of purity, extinction coefficients, and the availability of stable isotope labeled internal standards will be reviewed.