# Biological Activities of Glucosinolate and Its Enzymatic Product in Moringa oleifera (Lam.)

## TL;DR

This study isolates and compares the biological activities of glucosinolate and its enzymatic product from Moringa oleifera, finding that the product BITC shows strong anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects.

## Contribution

The study identifies and compares the bioactivities of 4-RBMG and BITC from Moringa oleifera, highlighting BITC's potential as a therapeutic agent.

## Key findings

- BITC significantly inhibits NO production at 6.25 μmol/L with 96.67% inhibitory rate and no cytotoxicity.
- BITC shows over 90% cell inhibitory rates on leukemia, lung cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines at 40 μmol/L.
- 4-RBMG has better anti-oxidation effects than BITC at 5–20 mg/mL concentrations.

## Abstract

In this study, using 70% anhydrous ethanol as the extraction solvent, Moringa oleifera Lam. seed powder was extracted with the microwave-assisted extraction method, followed by purification using macroporous adsorbent resin NKA-9. The purified glucosinolate was subsequently hydrolyzed with myrosinase. The glucosinolate and its enzymatic product were identified as 4-(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy) benzyl glucosinolate (4-RBMG) and benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) by UV–Vis, FT-IR, NMR, and MS. The bioactivities, including anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and anti-tumor activities of 4-RBMG and BITC, were systematically evaluated and compared. The results show that at 5–20 mg/mL, the anti-oxidation effects of 4-RBMG on DPPH and ABTS free radicals are superior to those of BITC. However, at the same concentrations, BITC has stronger anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor activities compared to 4-RBMG. Notably, at a concentration of 6.25 μmol/L, BITC significantly inhibited NO production with an inhibitory rate of 96.67% without cytotoxicity. Additionally, at a concentration of 40 μmol/L, BITC exhibited excellent inhibitory effects on five tumor cell lines, with the cell inhibitory rates of leukemia HL-60, lung cancer A549, and hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 exceeding 90%. This study provides some evidence that the enzymatic product, BITC, shows promise as a therapeutic agent for tumor suppression and inflammation reduction.