Abstract
The consumption of plant sprouts as part of human day-to-day diets is gradually increasing, and their health benefit is attracting interest across multiple disciplines. The purpose of this review was to (a) critically evaluate the phytochemicals in selected sprouts (alfalfa, buckwheat, broccoli, and red cabbage), (b) describe the health benefits of sprouts, (c) assess the recent advances in sprout production, (d) rigorously evaluate their safety, and (e) suggest directions that merit special consideration for further novel research on sprouts. Young shoots are characterized by high levels of health-benefitting phytochemicals. Their utility as functional ingredients have been extensively described. Tremendous advances in the production and safety of sprouts have been made over the recent past and numerous reports have appeared in mainstream scientific journals describing their nutritional and medicinal properties. However, subjects such as application of sprouted seed flours in processed products, utilizing sprouts as leads in the synthesis of nanoparticles, and assessing the dynamics of a relationship between sprouts and gut health require special attention for future clinical exploration. Sprouting is an effective strategy allowing manipulation of phytochemicals in seeds to improve their health benefits.
Highlights
As people become increasingly conscious about the relationship between diets and health, attention is shifting towards assessing better methods to improve the functionality of foods
A diverse range of sprouted foods originating from a broad range of seeds such as alfalfa, buckwheat, red cabbage, and broccoli sprouts have become popular and are widely consumed across the globe [4,5]
This review offers a summary of the phytochemicals present in sprouts with a focus on legumes, cereals, and vegetable sprouts and their health benefits
Summary
As people become increasingly conscious about the relationship between diets and health, attention is shifting towards assessing better methods to improve the functionality of foods. Shi et al stated that the increasing consumption of alfalfa sprouts is due to their high content of saponins and other useful bioactive compounds present in the germinated seeds [6]. Such compounds are known to possess antioxidant activity, antiviral activity, immune stimulant activity, and antidiabetic activity, among other functions in both humans and animals [6]. This review offers a summary of the phytochemicals present in sprouts with a focus on legumes (alfalfa), cereals (buckwheat), and vegetable (red cabbage and broccoli) sprouts and their health benefits. An attempt is made to identify intriguing areas of investigation on edible sprouts that merit special consideration for further research
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