Research Article UAE-HPLC-UV: New Contribution for Fast Determination of Total Isothiocyanates in Brassicaceae Vegetables Cecilia M. Fusari, 1,2 Daniela A. Locatelli, 1,2 Jorgelina C. Altamirano, 3,4 and Alejandra B. Camargo 1,2,4 1 Instituto de Biolog´ ıa Agr´ ıcola de Mendoza (IBAM), CONICET, Almirante Brown 500, Chacras de Coria, 5505 Mendoza, Argentina 2 Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Almirante Brown 500, Chacras de Coria, 5505 Mendoza, Argentina 3 Laboratorio de Qu´ ımica Ambiental, Instituto Argentino de Nivolog´ ıa, Glaciolog´ ıa y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), CONICET, Avenida Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Mart´ ın, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina 4 Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Padre Jorge Contreras 1300, Parque General San Mart´ ın, 5500 Mendoza, Argentina Correspondence should be addressed to Alejandra B. Camargo; alebcamargo@gmail.com Received 26 August 2015; Revised 11 November 2015; Accepted 19 November 2015 Academic Editor: Patricia Valentao Copyright © 2015 Cecilia M. Fusari et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Total isothiocyanates content (ITC) is considered a good indicator of bioactive compounds responsible for benefcial efects related to Brassicaceae vegetables. Analytical performance is a critical factor for routine analysis in plant tissues. Te extraction technique for isolating phytochemicals from Brassicaceae vegetables is currently the bottleneck of the methodology. Te aim of this work was to optimize this step in the analytical process. Fast and less expensive alternative, based on ultrasound-assisted extraction technique (UAE) for direct extraction of GLS into an aqueous phase and further analysis of the hydrolysis product, was optimized. Full factorial (2  ) design followed by Central Composite Design (CCD) was used to obtain the optimum extraction conditions. Selected conditions were homogenization time (9 min); ultrasound bath time (5 min); and sample-to-solvent ratio (1 : 5 w/v mg mL −1 ). Te proposed analytical methodology exhibits satisfactory analytical performance in terms of linearity, precision (RSD < 2.4%), and limits of detection (26 nmol g −1 w.w.). Te new analytical methodology was applied to caulifower, cabbage, watercress, and broccoli samples with recoveries higher than 86%. Te UAE extraction technique was showed to be efcient for real samples analysis leading to sensible, selective, and reproducible methodology for ITC analysis. 1. Introduction Glucosinolates (GLS) are the main secondary metabolites found in the Brassicaceae plants (formerly called crucifer- ous). To date, over than 120 diferent types of GLS have been described, and the common structure of all GLS comprises a -D-thioglucose group linked to a sulfonated aldoxime moiety and a variable side chain derived from amino acids [1, 2]. During disruption of plant material (e.g., mastication, cutting, or processing), myrosinase is released and hydrol- yses GLS, forming diferent breakdown products, including isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, nitriles, epithionitriles, and oxazolidine-2-thiones [3]. Most of the biological activities attributed to Brassicaceae plants are related specifcally to ITCs [4]. Isothiocyanates are a family of small molecules character- ized by the presence of a –N=C=S group and are extensively investigated for their potential to reduce the risks of chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis and cancer [5]. Epidemi- ological studies indicate that the human consumption of high quantities of Brassicaceae vegetables reduces the risk of developing lung, breast, prostate, colon, and rectum cancer [6, 7]. Other biological properties include antifungal [8], antimicrobial [9], and antioxidant activities [10, 11]. For those reasons, total isothiocyanates content (ITC) is considered a good indicator of bioactive compounds responsible for benefcial efects of Brassicaceae. To obtain the ITC profle analysis, the instrumentation usually used is high performance liquid chromatography Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Chemistry Volume 2015, Article ID 294601, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/294601