Abstract
Edible sprouts with germinating seeds of a few days of age are naturally rich in nutrients and other bioactive compounds. Among them, the cruciferous (Brassicaceae) sprouts stand out due to their high contents of glucosinolates (GLSs) and phenolic compounds. In order to obtain sprouts enriched in these phytochemicals, elicitation is being increasing used as a sustainable practice. Besides, the evidence regarding the bioavailability and the biological activity of these compounds after their dietary intake has also attracted growing interest in recent years, supporting the intake of the natural food instead of enriched ingredients or extracts. Also, there is a growing interest regarding their uses, consumption, and applications for health and wellbeing, in different industrial sectors. In this context, the present review aims to compile and update the available knowledge on the fundamental aspects of production, enrichment in composition, and the benefits upon consumption of diverse edible cruciferous sprouts, which are sources of phenolic compounds and glucosinolates, as well as the evidence on their biological actions in diverse pathophysiological situations and the molecular pathways involved.
Highlights
In the last decades, a growing interest concerning the implications of diet and physical activity on health has occurred in society
The biological activity developed by these compounds is mainly due to their antioxidant capacity, which could lower the deleterious consequences of excessively high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells and, decrease oxidative stress (OS) by providing cells with molecular tools to combat the imbalance between the production of ROS and the capacity to modulate the redox balance
A number of studies have encouraged the consumption of cruciferous sprouts as interesting sources of biomolecules with beneficial effects on health, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant capacities
Summary
A growing interest concerning the implications of diet and physical activity on health has occurred in society. Many works have paid attention to the bioaccessibility, bioavailability, and bioactivity which will allow, in the near future, validation of their use in the design of new functional ingredients and foods [1] In this regard, edible sprouts represent a valuable source of diverse micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and amino acids), macronutrients (proteins, low in carbohydrates, and a high content of dietary fiber), and plant secondary metabolites This review aims to compile and update the available knowledge on the fundamental aspects of production [6], enrichment in composition, and benefits upon consumption of diverse edible raw sprouts as suitable sources of (poly)phenols and GLSs, as well as the currently available evidence on their biological actions in diverse pathophysiological situations and the molecular pathways involved In this sense, it has been noticed that there is a close linkage between the bioactive composition of cruciferous sprouts and their capacity to act as “phytopharmaceutics” with a valuable contribution to human health
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