CLONAL HERBAL EXTRACTS AS ELICITORS OF PHENOLIC SYNTHESIS IN DARK-GERMINATED MUNGBEANS FOR IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL VALUE WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD SAFETY

Abstract

Plant phenolics are secondary metabolites that confer beneficial properties to the plants that produce them. Extracts made from plants that produce these phytochemicals are increasingly being recognized for their antimicrobial properties. In this study, we investigated extracts made from high-phenolics-producing clonal lines of oregano and thyme for potential as elicitors of phenolic antioxidant production in dark-germinated mungbean (Vigna radiata,). Mungbean was dark-germinated under the rationale that any energy stored in the bean seed in the form of starch may potentially be utilized for enhanced phenolics production, since without a light source the dark-germinated seedling may not stimulate the development of photosynthetic components. Wafer-based herb extracts showed the greatest ability to stimulate phenolic content in dark-germinated mungbeans. Three of the oregano extracts were investigated further and showed an ability to stimulate glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), and antioxidant activity. These results suggest that the extracts contain an active elicitor that stimulates phenolic antioxidant content, as well as activity of the pentose-phosphate pathway. In addition, the results of this study suggest that extracts of high-phenolics-producing clonal plants may have potential in the food and agriculture industry as seed treatments for preventing bacterial infection in germinating sprouts by stimulating phenolic antioxidant-producing pathways, as well as for increasing the nutritional value of sprouts for human consumption.