Biotic Elicitors Effectively Increase The Glucosinolates Content In Brassicaceae Sprouts

Abstract

Several biotic elicitors have been used in Brassicaceae species to enhance their phytochemical quality. However, there is no comparison between elicitors under controlled-growth conditions. In order to draw general conclusions about the use of elicitors to enrich ready-to-eat sprouts in health-promoting glucosinolates, the aim of this study was to unvail the effect of the phytohormones methyl jasmonate (25µM), jasmonic acid (150 µM), and salicylic acid (100 µM), the oligosaccharides glucose (277mM) and sucrose (146mM), and the amino acid DL-methionine (5mM), as elicitors over 8-day sprouting Brassica oleraceae (broccoli), Brassica napus (rutabaga cabbage), Brassica rapa (turnip) and Raphanus sativus (China rose radish and red radish), representative species high in glucosinolates previously studied. Results indicated that the phytohormones methyl jasmonate and jasmonic acid, and the sugars, acted as effective elicitors, increasing the total glucosinolate contents and, particularly, health related compounds such as glucoraphanin, glucoraphenin, dehydroerucin and indoles, in all the Brassicaceae species studied.