Small-Seeded Legumes as a Novel Food Source. Variation of Nutritional, Mineral and Phytochemical Profiles in the Chain: Raw Seeds-Sprouted Seeds-Microgreens

Growing public concerns about health haves prompted the search for novel food sources. The study is focused on the seeds, sprouted seeds and microgreens of

B. Butkutė, Lukas Taujenis, Eglė Norkevičienė

Molecules · 2018 · https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24010133

Abstract

Growing public concerns about health haves prompted the search for novel food sources. The study is focused on the seeds, sprouted seeds and microgreens of Trifolium pratense, T. medium, Medicago sativa, M. lupulina, Onobrychis viciifolia, Astragalus glycyphyllos and A. cicer species as a potential source of value-added food ingredientsr. The samples were analysed for nutritional (wet chemistry, standard methods) and mineral (atomic absorption spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometry) profiles, isoflavones (ultra-performance liquid with diode array detector –UPLC-DAD), coumestrol (UPLC-DAD), condensed tannins (CT) (vanillin-H2SO4 assay) and triterpene saponins (UPLC with triple-stage quadrupole MS). In our study, each species displayed high, but species-dependent nutritional, mineral and phytochemical value. All counterparts of legumes were mineral and protein rich. A. glycyphyllos samples, especially seeds, were abundant in iron. Trifolium spp. were found to be important sources of isoflavones, Medicago spp. of coumestrol and saponins, and O. viciifolia of CT. The protein and phytochemical contents increased and total carbohydrates decreased from seeds to microgreens.Our findings proved for the first time that seeds, sprouted seeds, and especially microgreens of small-seeded legumes are promising new sources of ingredients for fortification of staple foods with bioactive compounds, minerals and nutrients.

Licence and reuse

LicenceCC-BY-4.0
May we host this PDF?Yes
May we publish a plain-language summary?Yes — this licence permits adaptations.
Commercial use permitted?Yes
Share-alike required?No

How to credit this work

B. Butkutė; Lukas Taujenis; Eglė Norkevičienė (2018). Small-Seeded Legumes as a Novel Food Source. Variation of Nutritional, Mineral and Phytochemical Profiles in the Chain: Raw Seeds-Sprouted Seeds-Microgreens. Molecules. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24010133 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Hosted by EVEC Athens (microgreens.org.gr). No changes were made to this article. Provided as-is, without warranties. EVEC Athens is not affiliated with, and this copy is not endorsed by, the authors or the publisher.

Explore this on our site

About this copy

This is a copy of the published article, hosted by EVEC Athens for free educational use under its open licence. The permanent scientific reference is the DOI above. We have not altered the file in any way. If you are an author or rights holder and want this copy removed, please use our notice and takedown procedure. We acknowledge every request within five working days, and act within ten.

Co-funded by the European Union.
This portal presents the microgreens methodology; the organisation behind it is EVEC Athens — the European Voluntary and Educational Center (evec.org.gr). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Open licence. Except where stated otherwise, the educational materials on this portal are licensed under CC BY 4.0 — free to use, adapt and share, including commercially, with credit. See the licence terms.

Accessibility. We aim for WCAG 2.1 AA and publish what does and does not yet meet it — see the accessibility statement. If anything here blocks you, tell us and we will send the material in a format that works for you.