Chewing fresh vegetables containing the glucoraphenin-myrosinase system, such as radishes, rapidly converts glucoraphenin into sulforaphene and related isothiocyanates.

“So what you are doing is you're acting like that insect that I told you lands on a leaf of a broccoli plant. You're breaking the plant cells by crunching on the radish, you're releasing a compound that's very, very similar to glucoraphanin. It's actually called glucoraphenin in radishes. It happens to be more of a lachrymator. It's got a more mucus-inducing effect in people. And you're letting myrosinase in those radish tissues act on glucoraphenin and form sulforaphene and some other related isothiocyanates.”