Evaluation of glucosinolates in nordic horseradish (armoracia rusticana)

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana Gaertn., C.A. Mey & Scherb.) has a long history as food and medicinal plant. Glucosinolates (GLS) or their breakdown products are responsible for the pungent taste and claimed medicinal effects. The dominate GLS in horseradish is sinigrin ( > 80%) followed by gluconasturtiin and glucobrassicin. A total of 168 Nordic accessions of horseradish were screened for the content of intact glucosinolates. Sinigrin levels varied between 10 and 45, gluconasturtiin between 1.3 and 7.4 and glucobrassicin between 0.1 and 2.6 ?mol/g DM. Accessions with high levels of both sinigrin and gluconasturtiin were found. Horseradish accessions are kept as living plants in clonal archives in their respective countries. The task for plant gene banks is not only to conserve genetic resources for the future, but also to stimulate use of the collections for various products and breeding programmes. After further analyses to certify the screening results, selected accessions will form a base for breeding and increased use of horseradish as a condiment to food, natural preservative or in medical treatments.