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Microwave assisted isolation and cytotoxic activities of volatiles from different varieties of Brassica oleracea

Records of herbal extracts date back two millennia when essential oils were first obtained by distillation. Only a few minor modifications were made during the period of industrialization and the advancement of science. A recent patent describes a new method for extracting natural products without added any solvent or water by using microwave energy. The solvent free microwave extraction apparatus is an original combination of microwave heating and dry distillation at atmospheric pressure. Based on a relatively simple principle, this method involves placing plant material in a microwave reactor. The internal heating of the in situ water within the plant material distends the plant cells and leads to rupture of the glands and oleiferous receptacles. Brassica is a genus which comprises over 38 species, many of them well-known ones such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, turnip, rapeseed, etc. The distinctive taste, smell as well as pharmacological benefits are mostly due to isothiocyanates and nitriles that derive from glucosinolate degradation [1]. In this work, the isolation of volatiles was performed from commercially obtained samples of three different varieties of Brassica oleracea (broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi) by microwave assisted distillation (for 35 min) and extraction (15 min) using 500 W. Volatile isolates were analysed by GC-MS technique and evaluated against two tumour cell lines: A549 (human lung cancer cells) and MDA-MB-231 (human breast adenocarcinoma) using MTT assay.

Microwave isolation, Brassica oleracea, isothiocyanates, MDA-MB-231, MTT test

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