Abstract
Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are organosulfur compounds derived from cruciferous plants. An electrophilic ITC group (-N=C=S) reacts with some functional groups such as a hydroxyl ion, a thiol group and amine groups in proteins. It is known that ITCs are decomposed easily by the addition of a hydroxyl ion to the ITC group in aqueous solutions. In the intracellular behavior, the primary target of ITCs is a thiol group, which results in the formation of their dithiocarbamate conjugates. The reaction is considered to induce the health promoting and disease preventive effects of ITCs. ITCs also react with amine groups to form stable thioureas. This review offers a short summary of the stability and reactivity of ITCs and the plausible behavior of their dithiocarbamate- and thiourea-conjugates.
