Variation of Glucosinolate Composition during Seedling and Growth Stages of Brassica rapa L. ssp pekinensis

The objective of this study was to evaluate glucosinolate (GSL) profiles and variation of total and individual GSLs concentrations within seedling (0-14 days) and growth stages (0-15 weeks) of Korean Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis). Ten GSLs (progoitrin, glucoraphanin, glucoalyssin, gluconapin, glucobrassicanapin, 4-hydroxyglucobrassin, glucobrassicin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, neoglucobrassicin and gluconasturtiin) were identified from Korean Chinese cabbage. In general, total GSL content significantly decreased during seedling (from 92.89 to 35.26 mu mol.g(-1) DW) and growth stages (from 74.11 to 1.97 mu mol.g(-1) DW). Gluconapin was the highest in seeds and in the germination period (73.1 mu mol.g(-1) DW) and declined gradually from 73 to 15% during seedling stages. The level of the major aliphatic GSLs, gluconapin and progoitrin, tended to decrease sharply, whereas levels of indolic GSLs (4-methoxyglucobrassicin, glucobrassicin) and aromatic GSLs (gluconasturtiin) were found to increase generally at the beginning of growth stages.