Glucosinolates determination in tissues of horseradish plant

Glucosinolates (GLS) are secondary metabolites mainly found in plants belonging to the Brassicaceae family, including also horseradish (Armoracia rusticana P. Gaertner, B. Meyer & Scherbius), a popular spice with a characteristic pungent flavor due to the abundance of GLS. Such compounds exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and insecticidal activities, as well as human health properties. Therefore, it is very important to have a full understanding of their levels and profiles in plants. However, the characterization of GLS from horseradish crude extracts is a tough task, due to the complexity of the vegetal matrix and the occurrence of many GLS in trace amounts. Here we describe two alternative effective and rapid methods for GLS characterization in horseradish plants: liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for determination of intact GLS and HPLC-UV for determination of desulfo-GLS.