Glucosinolates constitute a natural class of organic compounds that contain sulfur and nitrogen and are derived from glucose and an amino acid. 
They are water-soluble anions and belong to the glucosides. Every glucosinolate contains a central carbon atom, which is bound to the sulfur atom of the thioglucose group, and via a nitrogen atom to a sulfate group (making a sulfated aldoxime). In addition, the central carbon is bound to a side group; different glucosinolates have different side groups, and it is variation in the side group that is responsible for the variation in the biological activities of these plant compounds.
The essence of glucosinolate chemistry is their ability to convert into an isothiocyanate (a "mustard oil") upon hydrolysis of the thioglucoside bond by the enzyme myrosinase.
The semisystematic naming of glucosinolates consists of the chemical name of the group "R" in the diagram followed by "glucosinolate", with or without a space. For example, allylglucosinolate and allyl glucosinolate refer to the same compound: both versions are found in the literature. Isothiocyanates are conventionally written as two words.
The following are some glucosinolates and their isothiocyanate products:
* Allylglucosinolate (sinigrin) is the precursor of allyl isothiocyanate
* Benzylglucosinolate (glucotropaeolin) is the precursor of benzyl isothiocyanate
* Phenethylglucosinolate (gluconasturtiin) is the precursor of phenethyl isothiocyanate
* (R)-4-(methylsulfinyl)butylglucosinolate (glucoraphanin) is the precursor of (R)-4-(methylsulfinyl)butyl isothiocyanate (sulforaphane)
* (R)-2-hydroxybut-3-enylglucosinolate (progoitrin) is probably the precursor of (S)-2-hydroxybut-3-enyl isothiocyanate, which is expected to be unstable and immediately cyclize to form (S)-5-vinyloxazolidine-2-thione (goitrin)
Sinigrin was first of the class to be isolated — in 1839 as its potassium salt. Its chemical structure had been established by 1930, showing that it is a glucose derivative with β--glucopyranose configuration. It was unclear at that time whether the C=N bond was in the Z (or syn) form, with sulfur and oxygen substituents on the same side of the double bond, or the alternative E form in which they are on opposite sides. The matter was settled by X-ray crystallography in 1963. It is now known that all natural glucosinolates are of Z form, although both forms can be made in the laboratory. The "ate" ending in the naming of these compounds implies that they are anions at physiological pH and an early name for this allylglucosinolate was potassium myronate. Care must be taken when discussing these compounds since some older publications do not make it clear whether they refer to the anion alone, its corresponding acid or the potassium salt.