Antiplatelet and anticancer isothiocyanates in Japanese domestic horseradish, wasabi

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Abstract
6‐Methylsulfinylhexyl isothiocyanate (MS‐ITC) was isolated from wasabi (Wasabia japonica, Japanese domestic horseradish) as a potential inhibitor of human platelet aggregation in vitro through our extensive screening of vegetables and fruits. In the course of another screening for the induction of glutathione S‐transferase (GST) activity in RL34 cells, MS‐ITC was inadvertently isolated from wasabi as a potential inducer of GST. MS‐ITC administered to rats or mice also showed both activities in vivo. As a result from elucidation of the platelet aggregation inhibition and the GST induction mechanisms of MS‐ITC, the isothiocyanate moiety of MS‐ITC plays an important role for antiplatelet and anticancer activities because of its highly reactivity with sulfhydryl (‐SH) groups in biomolecules (GSH, cysteine residue in a certain protein, etc.).