The effects of glucosinolates (GLs) (sinigrin, gluconapin, progoitrin, epi-progoitrin, sinalbin, glucotropaeolin, glucoerucin, glucocheirolin, and glucoraphenin) and their enzymatic hydrolysis-derived products (EHDPs) have been studied in controlling the proliferation of cancer cell lines. The results of this study indicate the following:  (i) neither myrosinase nor intact GLs have any effect on tumor cell growth when used up to 36 U/mL and 500 μM, respectively; (ii) all EHDPs show a clear inhibition of human erythroleukemic K562 cell proliferative growth, which is particularly evident for EHDPs from sinigrin, glucotropaeolin, glucoerucin, and glucocheirolin (IC₅₀ < 20 μM); (iii) the EHDP production by in situ or pre-mix procedures gives rather similar antiproliferative effects; and finally, (iv) the EHDPs from glucoraphenin are active toward several other tumor cells, viz. FL (murine erythroleukemic cells), Jurkat (human T-lymphoid cells), HeLa (human cervix carcinoma cells), H9 (human T-lymphoid cells), and H3-T1-1 cells (obtained by transfection of HeLa with a LTR-HIV-1-CAT plasmid).

Keywords: Crucifers; glucosinolates; isothiocyanates; myrosinase; antitumor activity