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Published on: March 15, 2017
Effect of selenium-sulfur interaction on the anabolism of sulforaphane in broccoli
Shuxiang Mao1, Junwei Wang1, Qi Wu1
1College of Horticulture, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China; Engineering Research Center for Horticultural Crop Germplasm Creation and New Variety Breeding, Ministry of Education, Changsha, 410128, China; Key Laboratory for Vegetable Biology of Hunan Province, Changsha, 410128, China.
Abstract:
The effects of S (as sulphate) and Se (as selenite) treatment (S mM/Se μM: 1/0, 1/50, 1/100, 1/150, 4/0, 4/50, 4/100, and 4/150) on the production of sulforaphane (an anticancer compound), the accumulation of its precursor substance, and the expression of genes related to glucoraphanin biosynthesis in broccoli were examined. Sulforaphane yield and myrosinase activity increased significantly with the combined application of 4 mM S and 100 μM Se on broccoli. Furthermore, the concentrations of glucoraphanin (a sulforaphane precursor) and methionine (a glucoraphanin substrate) slightly changed after Se application. And the strong anticancer activity of compound Se-SMC was further improved. Analysis of related gene expression showed that MY, which encodes myrosinase, was strongly induced by Se treatment. Thus, the myrosinase activity induced by Se treatment is the dominant factor affecting sulforaphane yield from glucoraphanin hydrolyzation. Selenium-sulfur biofortification provides a technical support for the cultivation of broccoli with high sulforaphane and high anti-cancer selenium compounds.
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