Effects of germination time on the antioxidant properties of edible seeds

Živilė Tarasevičienė,Akvilė Viršilė,Honorata Danilčenko,Pavelas Duchovskis,Aurelija Paulauskienė,Marek Gajewski

doi:10.1080/19476337.2018.1553895

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to determine the level of antioxidants in the seeds of wheat, lentil, pea, radish, broccoli, alfalfa, sunflower and amaranth germinated for 24, 72 and 120 hours. Following germination, the highest increases in the total phenols corresponded to 5.39, 4.62 and 2.20 times in broccoli, radish and alfalfa seeds respectively. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity was higher after germination for 120 hours in all the seed types as compared with the non-germinated seeds. In radish, sunflower and alfalfa seeds, the ability to scavenge ABTS increased by 5.19, 1.34 and 2.90 times respectively, after germination. According to the different changes in the amounts of tocopherol isomers in germinating seeds can be summarized, that the α-tocopherol content increased and that of β-, γ-, δ-tocopherol decreased irrespective of the species, therefore suitable for germination time and seeds variety allows having products with a high nutritional and antioxidant properties.

Highlights

Seed germination is a simple, inexpensive and environmentally friendly method for producing plant-derived foods with functional properties
Germination can change the total phenolic content in seeds depending on the germination time and species
A high total phenol content was found in the seeds of cruciferous species as well as alfalfa and sunflower seeds

Summary

Introduction

Seed germination is a simple, inexpensive and environmentally friendly method for producing plant-derived foods with functional properties. Antioxidants play an important role in food due to their beneficial effects on the human body (Fernandez-Orozco et al, 2008). They can inactivate free radicals, which are unstable, highly reactive and energised molecules that attack proteins, nucleic acids, phospholipids and other cellular macromolecules, thereby impairing the normal activity of cells (Bramley et al, 2000). Various bioactive compounds are accumulated in seeds and sprouts, such as vitamins, γ-aminobutyric acid, polyphenols and trace elements (Pasko et al, 2009; Gan et al, 2017)

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