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Yield optimization, microbial load analysis, and sensory evaluation of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.), lentil (Lens culinaris subsp. culinaris), and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) microgreens grown under greenhouse conditions
Microgreens have been used for raw consumption and are generally viewed as healthy food. This study aimed to optimize the yield parameters, shelf life, sen
Priti Priti, Seema Sangwan, Bharti Kukreja, Gyan P. Mishra, Harsh Kumar Dikshit, Ajeet Singh, Muraleedhar S. Aski, Atul Kumar, Yashpal Taak, Tsering Stobdan, Shouvik Das, Ranjeet Ranjan Kumar, Devendra Kumar Yadava, Shelly Praveen, Shiv Kumar, Ramakrishnan M. Nair
PLoS ONE · 2022 · https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268085
Abstract
Microgreens have been used for raw consumption and are generally viewed as healthy food. This study aimed to optimize the yield parameters, shelf life, sensory evaluation and characterization of total aerobic bacteria (TAB), yeast and mold (Y&M), Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Listeria spp. incidence in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris), and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern & Coss.) microgreens. In mungbean and lentil, seeding-density of three seed/cm2, while in Indian mustard, eight seed/cm2 were recorded as optimum. The optimal time to harvest mungbean, Indian mustard, and lentil microgreens were found as 7th, 8th, and 9th day after sowing, respectively. Interestingly, seed size was found highly correlated with the overall yield in both mungbeans (r2 = .73) and lentils (r2 = .78), whereas no such relationship has been recorded for Indian mustard microgreens. The target pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp. were not detected; while TAB, Y&M, Shigella spp., and E. coli were recorded well within the limit to cause any human illness in the studied microgreens. Washing with double distilled water for two minutes has shown some reduction in the overall microbial load of these microgreens. The results provided evidence that microgreens if grown and stored properly, are generally safe for human consumption. This is the first study from India on the safety of mungbean, lentils, and Indian mustard microgreens.
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How to credit this work
Priti Priti; Seema Sangwan; Bharti Kukreja; Gyan P. Mishra; Harsh Kumar Dikshit; Ajeet Singh; Muraleedhar S. Aski; Atul Kumar; Yashpal Taak; Tsering Stobdan; Shouvik Das; Ranjeet Ranjan Kumar; Devendra Kumar Yadava; Shelly Praveen; Shiv Kumar; Ramakrishnan M. Nair (2022). Yield optimization, microbial load analysis, and sensory evaluation of mungbean (Vigna radiata L.), lentil (Lens culinaris subsp. culinaris), and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) microgreens grown under greenhouse conditions. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268085 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
- How to grow it: Chia microgreens — growing guide
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