Glucosinolate

About 132 different glucosinolates are known to occur naturally in plants. They are synthesized from certain amino acids: So-called aliphatic glucosinolates derived from mainly methionine, but also alanine, leucine, isoleucine, or valine. (Most glucosinolates are actually derived from chain-elongated homologues of these amino acids, e.g. glucoraphanin is derived from dihomomethionine, which is methionine chain-elongated twice). Aromatic glucosinolates include indolic glucosinolates, such as glucobrassicin, derived from tryptophan and others from phenylalanine, its chain-elongated homologue homophenylalanine, and sinalbin derived from tyrosine.[6]

The plants contain the enzyme myrosinase, which, in the presence of water, cleaves off the glucose group from a glucosinolate.[7] The remaining molecule then quickly converts to an isothiocyanate, a nitrile, or a thiocyanate; these are the active substances that serve as defense for the plant. Glucosinolates are also called mustard oil glycosides. The standard product of the reaction is the isothiocyanate (mustard oil); the other two products mainly occur in the presence of specialised plant proteins that alter the outcome of the reaction.[8]

A mustard oil glycoside 1 is converted to an isothiocyanate 3 (mustard oil). Glucose 2 is liberated as well, only the β-form is shown.– R = allyl, benzyl, 2-phenylethyl etc.

In the chemical reaction illustrated above, the red curved arrows in the left side of figure are simplified compared to reality, as the role of the enzyme myrosinase is not shown. However, the mechanism shown is fundamentally in accordance with the enzyme-catalyzed reaction.

In contrast, the reaction illustrated by red curved arrows at the right side of the figure, depicting the rearrangement of atoms resulting in the isothiocyanate, is expected to be non-enzymatic. This type of rearrangement can be named a Lossen-rearrangement, or a Lossen-like rearrangement, since this name was first used for the analogous reaction leading to an organic isocyanate (R-N=C=O).

To prevent damage to the plant itself, the myrosinase and glucosinolates are stored in separate compartments of the cell or in different cells in the tissue, and come together only or mainly under conditions of physical injury.

The use of glucosinolate-containing crops as primary food source for animals can have negative effects if the concentration of glucosinolate is higher than what is acceptable for the animal in question, because some glucosinolates have been shown to have toxic effects (mainly as goitrogens and anti-thyroid agents) in both humans and animals at high doses.[9] However, tolerance level to glucosinolates varies even within the same genus (e.g. Acomys cahirinus and Acomys russatus).[10]

The glucosinolate sinigrin, among others, was shown to be responsible for the bitterness of cooked cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.[1][11] Glucosinolates may alter animal eating behavior.[12]

Glucosinolates are studied for their potential to affect plant breeding, plant physiology, plant genetics, and food applications. As of 2014, preliminary research was underway to assess possible protective effects of glucosinolates against cancer and dementia.[13][14]

Glucosinolates and their products have a negative effect on many insects, resulting from a combination of deterrence and toxicity. In an attempt to apply this principle in an agronomic context, some glucosinolate-derived products can serve as antifeedants, i.e., natural pesticides.[15]

In contrast, the diamondback moth, a pest of cruciferous plants, may recognize the presence of glucosinolates, allowing it to identify the proper host plant.[16] Indeed, a characteristic, specialised insect fauna is found on glucosinolate-containing plants, including butterflies, such as large white, small white, and orange tip, but also certain aphids, moths, such as the southern armyworm, sawflies, and flea beetles. For instance, the large white butterfly deposits its eggs on these glucosinolate-containing plants, and the larvae survive even with high levels of glucosinolates and eat plant material containing glucosinolates. The whites and orange tips all possess the so-called nitrile specifier protein, which diverts glucosinolate hydrolysis toward nitriles rather than reactive isothiocyanates.[17] In contrast, the diamondback moth possesses a completely different protein, glucosinolate sulfatase, which desulfates glucosinolates, thereby making them unfit for degradation to toxic products by myrosinase.[18]

Other kinds of insects (specialised sawflies and aphids) sequester glucosinolates.[19] In specialised aphids, but not in sawflies, a distinct animal myrosinase is found in muscle tissue, leading to degradation of sequestered glucosinolates upon aphid tissue destruction.[20] This diverse panel of biochemical solutions to the same plant chemical plays a key role in the evolution of plant-insect relationships.[21]