Effect of Postharvest and Industrial Processing on Glucosinolate from Broccoli: A Review

Abstract

Glucosinolate, is a kind of bioactive sulfur-containing secondary metabolites, which are mainly distributed in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower turnip and radish. In recent years, Glucosinolate has been widely studied for its anticancer and cardiovascular activities. The types and contents of Glucosinolate in broccoli are related to many factors, such as the cultivars, growth environment and stages, postharvest practices, and processing treatments. To make full use of the potential activities of Glucosinolate, the effects of postharvest practices and food processing treatments on Glucosinolate have been carried out in recent years. The authors have shown that postharvest processing conditions, for example, temperature, relative humidity, storage under a controlled atmosphere or modified atmosphere packaging, and food processing treatments can significantly affect the contents of Glucosinolate in broccoli. Therefore, this review updates the scientific literature on postharvest and food processing treatments on Glucosinolate in broccoli. In addition, the effect of cooking practice on the content of Glucosinolate is also highlighted.