Development of a Simple Method for Determination of Anti-cancer Component of Indole-3-carbinol in Cabbage and Broccoli

Abstract

Indole-3-carbinol is a potential anti-cancer agent, and it has been found rich in Brassica vegetables. However, there was few good extraction method of indole-3-carbinol in cabbage and broccoli. In this work, the wavelength and the ration of mobile phase in determination method, as well as different temperature and pH values in extraction method were all investigated some cultivars of cabbage and broccoli were collected and validated the determination method. A sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method has been established and used for the determination of indole-3-carbinol in cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) and broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica). The method was proved to be sensitive, selective, rapid and reproducible, with a good recovery of 99.25%. There was a fast retention time (4.88 min) and good linearity (R2=0.9991) in the system. Meanwhile, significant differences of indole-3-carbinol contents were detected among all the materials (P<0.05). Finally a simple extracting method of indole-3-carbinol was established, at the same time, the determination method was shown accurate, reliable and stable. So the determination method could be proposed application in medical and industrial area.