ABSTRACT
The history of glucosinolate research is now well into its second century. In recent years a number of authoritative reviews of glucosinolates in foods and feedstuffs have been published, notably by research groups from the US Department of Agriculture, and, in the UK, the Agriculture and Food Research Council. It is generally held that glucosinolates are limited to certain families of dicotyledonous angiosperms, predominantly within the order Capparales, sensu Cronquist or Taktajan, embracing Capparaceae, Cruciferae, Moringaceae, Resedaceae, and Tovariaceae. The vast majority of the 100 different glucosinolates which are now known have not been isolated in the pure state. In recent years there has been a need for pure glucosinolates, initially as chromatographic standards and, thereafter, for assessing their antinutritional and toxicological properties. Myrosinase-induced hydrolysis of glucosinolates yields wide variety of products, the exact nature of which is determined by a number of factors including pH, the presence of certain cofactors, and, most importantly, the structure of the parent glucosinolate.
