High resolution mass spectrometry studies of sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol in broccoli

- Determination of sulforaphane (SFN) and indole-3-carbinol (I3C) by UPLC-HRMS/MS.
- Fragmentation patterns of SFN and I3C under positive ESI are proposed herein.
- Linearity, detection and quantification limits were measured.
- The ranges of SFN and I3C in ten broccoli extracts were determined.

Broccoli is a rich source of bioactive compounds. Among them, sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol have attracted a lot of attention, since their consumption is associated with reduced risk of cancer. In this work, the development of an efficient and direct method for the simultaneous determination of sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol in broccoli using UPLC-HRMS/MS is described. The correlation coefficient, and limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.993, 0.77 mg/L and 2.35 mg/L for sulforaphane and 0.997, 0.42 mg/L, 1.29 mg/L for indole-3-carbinol, respectively. The content of sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol varied between 72 ± 9-304 ± 2 mg and 77 ± 1-117 ± 3 mg per 100 g of fresh florets, respectively. Taking into consideration the differences in cultivar, geography, season and environmental factors, the results agreed with values published in the literature using other techniques.