Conclusion
A systematic study on the influence of fermentation time on glucosinolates and glucobrassicin degradation products has been demonstrated for the first time. Specific analytical methods were developed for intact glucosinolates and their degradation products. This methodical investigation reveals that consumption of sauerkraut soon after fermentation provides the highest content of ascorbigen and indole-3-carbinol, which are considered to be health-promoting compounds. On the other hand, the unfavourable compound, indole-3-acetonitrile is considerably reduced during fermentation. Fermentation leads to complete degradation of glucosinolates, the sudden decrease of glucosinolates during the highest colony counts of lactic acid bacteria supports the fact of a microbial contribution to the glucosinolate degradation process. In addition, prolonged refrigerator storage of sauerkraut leads to lower contents of ABG and I3C.