Identification and analysis of isothiocyanates and new acylated anthocyanins in the juice of Raphanus sativus cv. Sango sprouts

The freeze-dried sprouts’ juice of Raphanus sativus (L.) cv. Sango was prepared and analysed for the first time. HPLC analysis of total isothiocyanates, after protein displacement, resulted in 77.8 ± 3.0 μmol/g of dry juice while GC–MS analysis of hexane and acetone extracts showed E- and Z-raphasatin (8.9 and 0.11 μmol/g, respectively) and sulforaphene (11.7 μmol/g), summing up to 20.7 ± 1.7 μmol/g of free isothiocyanates. Sprouts’ juice contained an unprecedented wealth of anthocyanins and a new fractionation methodology allowed us to isolate 34 mg/g of acylated anthocyanins (28.3 ± 1.9 μmol/g), belonging selectively to the cyanidin family. Analysis was performed by HPLC–PDA–ESI–MSn and extended to deacylated anthocyanins and aglycones, obtained, respectively, by alkaline and acid hydrolysis. This study identified 70 anthocyanins, 19 of which have never been described before and 32 of which are reported here in R. sativus for the first time. Sango radish sprouts are exceptional dietary sources of heath-promoting micronutrients.