engleski

Volatile constituents of extracts from selected Brassicaceae plants

This study represents the continuation of our research on chemistry of volatile compounds from Croatian wild-growing Brassicaceae plants. Brassicaceae plants are known as a source of sulfur-containing secondary metabolites, glucosinolates. During the extraction of glucosinolates their decomposition often occurs resulting with the isolation of volatile sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds. So, volatile sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds are not naturally present in intact plant but are formed mostly by enzymatic breakdown or thermal degradation of naturally occurring glucosinolates. These volatile compounds have been assigned for various biological activities. The volatile constituents of extracts from four plants, namely Aurinia leucadea, Cardaria draba, Capsella rubella and Calepina irregularis, were investigated. All extracts were prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis achived by endogenous enzyme myrosinase, i.e. autolysis, followed by solvent extraction at room temperature. The analyses of the extracts were performed by GC-FID/MS. The identification of volatile compounds revealed that sulfur- and nitrogen-containing compounds were qualitatively and quantiatively dominating constituents in all extracts. The major compound in Aurinia leucadea extract was 4, 5-epithiopentanenitrile (50%), followed by 5, 6-epithiohexanenitrile (18.5%) and but-3-enyl isothiocyanate (16.2%). Cardaria draba extract was characterized by a high percentage of 4-(methylsulfinyl)butyl isothiocyanate (57.3%), known by its trivial name sulforaphane, and ethyl isothiocyanate (26.5%). The main compounds among volatiles of Capsella rubella extract were 3, 4-epithiobutanenitrile (44.1%) and ethyl isothiocyanate (29.4%). Two sulfur-containing volatile compounds, 3-(methylthio)propyl isothiocyanate, known as iberverin, and 3-(methylsulfynyl)propyl isothiocyanate, known as iberin, were present in almost the same amounts in Calepina irregularis extract, 41.0% and 40.0%, respectively.

volatiles, Aurinia leucadea, Cardaria draba, Capsella rubella, Calepina irregularis

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