2. Academic Validation
  3. Magnetic field-assisted blanching enhances sulforaphane synthesis in broccoli florets, revealed by UPLC-ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS

Magnetic field-assisted blanching enhances sulforaphane synthesis in broccoli florets, revealed by UPLC-ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS

  • Food Chem X. 2026 Feb 20:34:103689. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2026.103689.
Jiawei Cheng 1,  Muci Wu 1,  Xin Liu 2,  Jingyi Wang 3,  Wangting Zhou 1,  Rui Zhang 1,  Jingren He 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Modern Industry for Selenium Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, China.
  • 2 Key Laboratory for Deep Processing of Major Grain and Oil, Ministry of Education, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, China.
  • 3 School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China.
PMID: 41777636 DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2026.103689
Abstract

Sulforaphane (SF) is generated from glucoraphanin hydrolysis catalyzed by endogenous myrosinase in Brassicaceae vegetables such as broccoli, with blanching critical to maximize SF formation. However, the effect of magnetic field (MF) treatment on glucoraphanin hydrolysis remains unclear. This study investigated MF-assisted blanching of broccoli florets under 0-10 mT, monitoring myrosinase activity and quantifying SF, sulforaphane nitrile (SFN), and precursor Glucosinolates using UPLC-ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS. MF-assisted blanching significantly enhanced myrosinase activity and SF formation, with the greatest effect at 1.0 mT, where myrosinase activity increased 3.11-fold and SF content reached 61.14 ± 1.21 μmol/100 g fresh weight, a 1.89-fold increase relative to the control (blanching only). SFN increased but remained at trace levels, reaching 3.10 ± 0.10 μmol/100 g fresh weight at 1.0 mT versus 0.24 ± 0.09 μmol/100 g in the control. Enhanced hydrolysis was supported by residual glucosinolate levels. These findings suggest a promising strategy to improve SF content in broccoli.

Keywords

Blanching; Broccoli florets; Glucosinolates; Magnetic field; Myrosinase; Sulforaphane; UPLC-ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS.

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