Separation and purification of sulforaphane from broccoli by solid phase extraction

A simple solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for the determination of sulforaphane in broccoli has been developed. The optimal conditions were found to be use of a silica SPE cartridge, and ethyl acetate and dichloromethane as washing and eluting solvents, respectively, which could eliminate interferences originating from the broccoli matrix. The extracts were sufficiently clean to be directly injected into high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for further chromatographic analysis. Good linearity was obtained from 0.05 to 200 μg/mL (r = 0.998) for sulforaphane with the relative standard deviations less than 3.6%. The mean recoveries of sulforaphane from broccoli were more than 90.8% and the detection limit (S/N = 3:1) was 0.02 μg/mL. The SPE method provides a higher yield of sulforaphane from crude extracts compared to conventional liquid-liquid extraction.