Mass spectrometry-based metabolites profiling of nutrients and anti-nutrients in major legume sprouts

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum), fava beans (Vicia faba), and lentil (Lens esculenta) legumes and their sprouts are consumed worldwide for their nutritional and health benefits. A holistic approach for metabolites profiling of these 4 legume sprouts using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry GC-MS was used in the study. UPLC-MS analysis led to the annotation of 303 metabolites. Cicer sprouts showed the most different secondary metabolites profile with respect to its rich isoflavones/methoxylated flavones content and its distinct sugars profile. On the other hand, Trigonella was the richest in saponins and C-glycoside flavones, whilst alkaloids and kaempferol-O-glycosides were the major metabolites in Vicia. Metabolome heterogeneity among the different sprouts was measured using principal component analysis (PCA). GC-MS analysis led to the identification of 78 primary metabolites belonging to sugars, organic and amino acids, fatty acids, and nitrogenous compounds. Antioxidant activity was further studied for all sprout extracts with Vicia sprouts the most active and the results were correlated with its total flavonoids content.