Lentil Plants Research Articles

Morphological and cultural variability in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lentis causing wilt of lentil

Vascular wilt of lentil caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lentis is one of the major threats to lentil cultivation in India. Morphological and cultural variability in F. oxysporum f.sp. lentis isolates was studied from the wilted lentil plants collected from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan State's, in India. Total 146 F. oxysporum f.sp. lentis (Fol) isolates were obtained after confirmation of pathogenicity tests on susceptible variety L9–12. The colonies of Fol isolates were white, dull white, pinkish white, yellowish white and brownish white. The pigmentations on standard Hi-media potato dextrose agar medium were yellowish brown, dark brown, creamy and dark tan. The isolates exhibited three types of growth pattern as oppressed, partially oppressed and fluffy. The rate of mycelia growth of the Fol isolates was slow ( 7 cm/week). Based on the morphological and cultural characteristics the isolates were grouped into fifty groups. The growth rate was considered as the main criterion for grouping of the isolates. Other important parameter for grouping the Fol isolates was the size of macroconidia; size more than 15 µm was considered as large, whereas, less than that was grouped in to small. Fast growing isolates comprised fourteen groups, those having large macroconidia formed six groups, while small size conidia were in eight groups. In medium growth rate there were seventeen groups, out of these eight groups were having large macro conidia, while in nine groups macro conidia were small. In slow growth rate there were nineteen groups, those having large macro conidia were eight, while in eleven groups small macro conidia were present. The existence of variability in F. oxysporum f.sp. lentis isolates was not limited by the States boundaries, as the isolates grouped in one group were from places of the different States. The phylogenetic tree prepared involving different morphological and cultural characteristics of the isolates depict two major groups of F. oxysporum f.sp. lentis isolates.

Bio-effective disease control and plant growth promotion in lentil by two pesticide degrading strains of Bacillus sp.

Antagonistic bacteria are common soil inhabitants with potential to control several soil-borne diseases of various crops. In this study, two methomyl degrading Bacillus sp. were screened for their antagonistic potential against soil borne pathogen identified as Alternaria sp. which causes leaf spot and blight disease in lentil. Both the strains produced non-volatile and volatile organic compounds, extracellular enzymes, siderophore, indole acetic acid and solubilized phosphate which ascribed to the mechanism of bio-control and plant growth promotion. These bacterial strains produced indole acetic acid, chitinase and solubilized phosphate even in presence of pesticides (namely methomyl, carbendazim and imidacloprid). The production of chitinase increased by 51–140% in presence of different tested pesticides by the bacterial strains. However, phosphate solublization was only increased up to 79% in B. cereus and 87% in B. safensis in presence of methomyl. Both strains promoted plant growth and suppressed leaf spot and the incidence of blight in lentil plants under controlled conditions in green house. Application of B. cereus and B. safensis isolates to sterile rhizospheric soil increased the dry weight of plants by 40.8% and 43.2%, respectively as compared to control. In similar set of experiments the disease incidence was reduced by 67.7–81.6% in B. cereus and 57.2–78.8% in B. safensis in sterile condition and by 51.4–76.5% and 48.6–63.4%, respectively in non-sterile condition. The present investigation shows both B. cereus and B. safensis as potential plant growth promoting rhizobacteria that can be exploited as efficient bio-control organisms against soil borne plant pathogens as well as can be applied in plant growth enhancement even in pesticide infested soil.

Influence of sowing dates on stemphylium blight disease severity and yield performance of lentil at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal

A study on lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) was carried out at Rampur, Chitwan with different sowing dates under field conditions to assess the severity of Stemphylium blight disease severity and yield performance during two consecutive years 2012-2014. During 2012/013, lower (3.00) and higher disease severity (6.50) were recorded on lentil plants sown on November 6 and December 16, respectively. Early sown lentil resulted in higher yield (2025 kg/ha) followed by late shown one (1213 kg/ha). Similarly, trends of disease development were similar in succeeding year (2013/14). Lentil seed shown on November 1 had lower disease severity (3.50) and produced higher yield (962.50 kg/ha) compared to that were shown on later dates. Disease severity increased with the advancement of sowing date from November 1 to December 21 with decreased yields. Hence, over years, early shown lentil (November 1, 6 and 11) escaped the higher severity of Stemphylium blight with the increase in yield.Journal of the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science.Vol. 33-34, 2015, Page: 129-136

Determination of Drought Tolerance of Chickpea and Lentil Plants, and Structural Elements of their Varieties

Determination of Drought Tolerance of Chickpea and Lentil Plants, and Structural Elements of their Varieties

Influence of drought and heat stress, applied independently or in combination during seed development, on qualitative and quantitative aspects of seeds of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) genotypes, differing in drought sensitivity.

Terminal droughts, along with high temperatures, are becoming more frequent to strongly influence the seed development in cool-season pulses like lentil. In the present study, the lentil plants growing outdoors under natural environment were subjected to following treatments at the time of seed filling till maturity: (a) 28/23°C day/night temperature as controls; (b) drought stressed, plants maintained at 50% field capacity, under the same growth conditions as in a; (c) heat stressed, 33/28°C day/night temperature, under the same growth conditions as in a; and (d) drought+heat stressed, plants at 50% field capacity, 33/28°C day/night temperature, under the same growth conditions as in (a). Both heat and drought resulted in marked reduction in the rate and duration of seed filling to decrease the final seed size; drought resulted in more damage than heat stress; combined stresses accentuated the damage to seed starch, storage proteins and their fractions, minerals, and several amino acids. Comparison of a drought-tolerant and a drought-sensitive genotype indicated the former type showed significantly less damage to various components of seeds, under drought as well as heat stress suggesting a cross tolerance, which was linked to its (drought tolerant) better capacity to retain more water in leaves and hence more photo-assimilation ability, compared with drought-sensitive genotype.

Studies on interaction of Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White) Chitwood and Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc forming a disease complex in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of interaction between Meloidogyne incognita and Fusarium solani on plant length, fresh and dry weights, number of pods, chlorophyll, carotenoid, nitrogen and phosphorus contents and nitrate reductase activity in lentil plants. The results reveal a maximum damage occurring in all the plant growth, biochemical and nutrient parameters, in plants inoculated with M. incognita 10 days prior to F. solani (Mi → Fs). This was followed by simultaneous (Mi + Fs) inoculations, fungus inoculation 10 days prior to nematode (Fs → Mi), M. incognita alone and F. solani alone treatments. Nematode reproduction factor and root galling were highest in individual inoculation of M. incognita, while root rotting percentage was highest when nematode was inoculated 10 days prior to fungus followed by simultaneous inoculation with both nematode and fungus.

The use of infrared thermal imaging as a non-destructive screening tool for identifying drought-tolerant lentil genotypes

Lentil (Lens culinaris, Medik.) is an important legume crop, which often experience drought stress especially at the flowering and grain filling phenological stages. The availability of efficient and robust screening tools based on relevant non-destructive quantifiable traits would facilitate research on crop improvement for drought tolerance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the drought tolerance of 37 lentil genotypes using infrared thermal imaging (IRTI), drought tolerance parameters and multivariate data analysis. Potted plants were kept in a completely randomized design in a growth chamber with five replicates. Plants were subjected to three different drought treatments: 100, 50 and 20% of field capacity at the onset of reproductive period. The relative drought stress tolerance was determined based on a set of morpho-physiological parameters including non-destructive measures based on IRTI, such as: canopy temperature (Tc), canopy temperature depression (CTD) and crop water stress index (CWSI) during the growing period and destructive measures at harvest, such as: dry root-shoot ratio (RS ratio), relative water content (RWC) and harvest index (HI). The drought tolerance indices used were drought susceptibility index (DSI) and drought tolerance efficiency (DTE). Results showed that drought stress treatments significantly reduced the RWC, HI, CTD and DSI, whereas, the values of Tc, CWSI, RS ratio and DTE significantly increased for all the genotypes. The cluster analysis from morpho-physiological parameters clustered genotypes in three distinctive groups as per the level of drought stress tolerance. The genotypes with higher values of RS ratio, RWC, HI, DTE and CTD and lower values of DSI, Tc and CWSI were identified as drought-tolerant genotypes. Based on this preliminary screening, the genotypes Digger, Cumra, Indianhead, ILL 5588, ILL 6002 and ILL 5582 were identified as promising drought-tolerant genotypes. It can be concluded that the IRTI analysis is a high-throughput constructive screening tool along with RS ratio, RWC, HI and other drought tolerance indices to define the drought stress tolerance variability within lentil plants. These results provide a foundation for future research directed at identifying powerful drought assessment traits using rapid and non-destructive techniques, such as IRTI along with the yield traits, and understanding the biochemical and molecular mechanisms underlying lentil tolerance to drought stress.

Effect of Different Inoculum Levels of Ascochyta lentis on Growth and Yield Attributes of Lentil Plant

Effect of different inoculums levels (103, 5x103, 104, 5x104 spores/ml) of A. lentis was studied on growth and yield parameters of four lines of lentil. Results showed that among these lines one (ILL-358) showed microsperma resistant, one (ILL-4605) macrosperma resistant, one (ILL-5580) microsperma susceptible and the remaining one (ILL-6002) macrosperma susceptible response over control. Plant height was the minimum in case of all the four lentil lines are at 5spores/ml. Similarly no. of leaflets, no. of pods/ plant, no. of grains/pod and 100 grain weight were reduced with increased level of spores concentration from 103 spore/ml to 5x104 spore/ml. Size and frequency of lesions/pods showed positive correlation with increasing spore concentrations.

Transcriptome profiling of lentil (Lens culinaris) through the first 24 hours of Ascochyta lentis infection reveals key defence response genes

BackgroundAscochyta blight, caused by the fungus Ascochyta lentis, is one of the most destructive lentil diseases worldwide, resulting in over $16 million AUD annual loss in Australia alone. The use of resistant cultivars is currently considered the most effective and environmentally sustainable strategy to control this disease. However, little is known about the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying lentil resistance against A. lentis.ResultsTo uncover the genetic basis of lentil resistance to A. lentis, differentially expressed genes were profiled in lentil plants during the early stages of A. lentis infection. The resistant ‘ILL7537’ and susceptible ‘ILL6002’ lentil genotypes were examined at 2, 6, and 24 h post inoculation utilising high throughput RNA-Sequencing. Genotype and time-dependent differential expression analysis identified genes which play key roles in several functions of the defence response: fungal elicitors recognition and early signalling; structural response; biochemical response; transcription regulators; hypersensitive reaction and cell death; and systemic acquired resistance. Overall, the resistant genotype displayed an earlier and faster detection and signalling response to the A. lentis infection and demonstrated higher expression levels of structural defence-related genes.ConclusionsThis study presents a first-time defence-related transcriptome of lentil to A. lentis, including a comprehensive characterisation of the molecular mechanism through which defence against A. lentis is induced in the resistant lentil genotype.

Formation of lentil yield components as affected by sowing timing, micronutrients and growth regulators

Purpose. To investigate the influence of sowing timing, microfertilizers and growth regulators on the formation of the components of the lentil ‘Linza’ yield structure.Methods. Field, laboratory.Results. The indices of plant height, height of attachment of the lower bean, number of main stems and stems of 2–3rd order, number of knots on lentil plants, buds, flowers and beans with seeds are given. The total number of seeds from one plant and per bean, the weight of seeds per plant and 1000-seed weight as affected by the factors of the experiment were determined. It has been established that the yield of a crop depends on a number of structural parameters that are being formed at earlier stages of plant growth and development. Having considered the limits of the variation of the yield components, it is possible to some extent agrotechnically neutralize the negative influence of a factor in the process of lentil cultivation. The results of the study of the effect of microfertilizers, growth regulators and their combination on the formation of elements of lentil ‘Linza’ yield structure, both individually and on average, are presented. It has been determined that in all years of the experiment, in terms of most indicators, the highest values of the yield components were recorded in 2016. The best values of the indices under study were obtained in the treatments with the combination of microfertilizer Reakom-SR-Bobovi and growth regulator Stympo at the first sowing date and micronutrient Reakom-SR-Bobovi at the second one.Conclusions. The following combinations of formulations had a better effect on the formation of some indicators of the crop yield: Kvantum-Bobovi on 1000-seed weight, Reakom-SR-Bobovi on the weight of seeds per one plant and Reakom-SR-Bobovi + Stympo on the number of beans, and seeds from one plant at the first sowing date. The application of Reakom-SR-Bobovi increases the total number of beans and set beans, the number of seeds per plant and the weight of seeds per plant; the option of using Reakom-SR-Bobovi + Regoplant positively affects the formation of 1000-seed weight at the 2nd sowing date.

Investigation of the Mechanism of Physiological Tolerance in Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) Cultivars under Drought Stress Conditions

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) is valued throughout the world for human and animal nutrition because of its high protein, vitamin, and mineral contents. Lentil production has decreased worldwide due to global warming. Although the physiological parameters of lentil plants have been examined under drought conditions, its tolerance mechanism has not been fully elucidated yet. In this study, lentil seedlings following germination were exposed to drought stress using 15% polyethylene glycol (PEG) application for 7 days. The untreated control plants were allowed to grow under conditions similar to that of germination. Oxidative stress responses (relative water content, chlorophyll content, H2O2 formation, lipid peroxidation, and proline accumulation) were compared in leaf samples of experimental and control group plants grown for 7 days under drought stress. Although the physiological and biochemical responses of the cultivars Fırat 87 and Çiftçi were close to each other, proline accumulation, malondialdehyde, and H2O2 levels were found to increase in the Sultan cultivar. Thus, it can be concluded that Fırat 87 and Çiftçi cultivars are more resistant to drought than the Sultan cultivar. <br/> <br/>

Effect of Boron on Antioxidant Response of Two Lentil (Lens culinaris) Cultivars

ABSTRACTBoron (B) is an essential micronutrient for plants through paticipating key reactions such as reproduction, development, and regeneration. Similar to its deficiency, its over-concentations possess toxic effects on plant growth. In this work, possible boron toxicity was researched through evaluating alaterations in antioxidant enzymes, oxidative stress biomarkers, and chlorophyll contents for two types of lentil species as red (native) and green (winter flake 11) lentil (Lens culinaris L.cv) cultivars, which are indigenous to Turkey. Ten days old seedling lentil plants were subjected to low as 0.5, 1.0 mM and high 2.0 and 5.0 mM boric acid treatments for 7 days. B worked as a growth-promoting nutrient for 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mM concentration by enhancing length and weight of both shoot and root tissues, while it started showed its suppression effect on these tissues at 5-mM cocentration, which were obtained more dramatic for green lentil in comparison to red lentil. In contrast to this, oxidative stress markers such as MDA, H2O2, and proline concentrations showed increasing trend for 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 mM B treatment, accompanied with a change in photosynthetic pigment concentrations (p < 0.01). MDA in red lentil shoot control was 30,3871 (μmol/gFW) and it was significantly increased to 36,5806 and 51,7414 by the 2.0 and 5.0 B rates, respectively. However, enzymes in anti-oxidation metabolism include superoxide dismutase (SOD), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX), lipoxygenase (LOX), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities were obtained higher in high-B-treated groups, while decreased and stable activities were obtained for catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) enzymes. CAT and APX activities were higher than those were obtained for 2.0 and 5.0 mM B treatments in both root and shoot tissues. The lentil species manipulated their metabolism to suppress B-stress, and enhanced growth in shoot and root tissues up to 5-mM B stress even though oxidative stress markers showed increasing trend from low B concentrations, 1.0 mM. Therefore, B stress can be claimed as “doubled edge sword” for these lentil species.AbbreviationsAOS, active oxygen species; APX, ascorbate peroxidase; CAT, catalase; DAB, diamino-benzidine tetrahydrochloride; DMSO, dimethyl sulfoxide DW, dry weight; EDTA, ethylenediamine-N,N,N0,N0-tetraacetic acid; FW, fresh weight GPX, guaiacol peroxidase; GSH-Px, glutathione peroxidase; LOX, lipoxygenase; MDA, malondialdehyde; NBT, nitroblue tetrazolium; PEG, polyethylene glycol; ROS, reactive oxygen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; H2O2, Hydrogen peroxide;

Possible mechanisms of increasing salt tolerance in lentil plants after pre-exposure to low salt concentration

The main objective of the present study is to test the effect of short preexposure of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) plants to low salt concentration on shoot growth, oxidative stress and activity of antioxidant enzymes under high salt stress. To fulfill this objective, lentil plants were pretreated with 10 mM NaCl for 3 days and then they were exposed to high salt concentration of 300 mM for 7 days. After that, shoot growth was evaluated in terms of shoot length, fresh and dry weight. Biochemical changes in terms of oxidative stress and activity of antioxidant enzymes were also assessed in lentil plants. The shoot growth of lentil plants preexposed to low salt concentration was significantly enhanced under high salt stress, whereas it was severely retarded in lentil plants that were directly exposed to high salt stress. Moreover, lipid peroxidation and the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide were highly reduced in the shoot of lentil plants preexposed to low salt concentration. The activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase) was significantly higher in the shoot of lentil plants preexposed to low salt concentration than those directly exposed to high salt concentration. Overall, the results revealed an enhanced salt tolerance in lentil plants after short exposure to low salt concentration.

Screening under Low Plant Density Reinforces the Identification of Lentil Plants with Resistance to Fusarium Wilt

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) varieties resistant to Fusarium wilt (Fw) is a key issue in sustainable production systems. The effect of the plant density (PD) on screening lentil plants for resistance to Fw was studied for 4 yr. Single plants originating from 20 lentil varieties along with their seed composite were grown in a replicated‐21 honeycomb design under three PDs in a wilt‐sick plot. Plant densities were 3.2 plants m−2 (PDI), 12.8 plants m−2 (PDII), and 25.6 plants m−2 (PDIII). Ranking of lentil varieties was based on the percentage of dead wilted plants (%dwp). Two selection criteria, plant yield (PY) and plant yield potential (PYP), were applied for each PD within each year. Effectiveness of selection was determined as the number of the plants originating from the resistant varieties within the top 50 selected. The rate of dwp due to Fw increased as the PD decreased. The %dwp across years was 58, 45, and 18% for PDI, PDII, and PDIII, respectively. Significant changes were observed on the ranking and varietal description for Fw resistance among PDs. Effectiveness of selection was maximized under PDI, while application of the PYP indicated higher effectiveness values than PY, with a difference of 28% under PDI and 18% under PDII across years. It was concluded that screening under low PD is a valuable tool in identifying Fw‐resistant plants. Under this case, %dwp is an efficient and easy way to assess the resistance of elite lines, while application of the PYP criterion improves the effectiveness of the method when screening heterogeneous genetic material.

Development of promiscous rhizobia for diverse rabi legumes (Chickpea, Pea and Lentil)

Conjugation between microsymbiont was used to create genetic variations in rhizobia for diverse rabi legumes (chickpea, pea and lentil) with better characteristics in nodulation and nitrogen fixation process. Ten antibiotics were used as selectable markers for the screening of twenty four bacterial strains to be used in mating experiments for obtaining transconjugants. All bacterial strains were sensitive to gentamycin and resistant to streptomycin, kanamycin and sulphanilamide. Total five fusants were obtained from each rhizobial cross combination with the help of electro-poration. Modified transconjugants, rhizobial strains had promiscuous infection with 50-122% more nodules showed significant increase in shoot fresh weight, dry weight and total nitrogen content in chickpea, pea and lentil plants. Electrofusantsrhizobial strains improved shoot nitrogen content up to 67% in lentil and 54% in pea and chickpea plants. The amount of nitrogen fixed in chickpea was highest (3.71gm) by transconjugants DP-C6- HLN followed by DP-C6-HP14 (3.56gm). Transconjugants DP-HP14-HLN fixed the highest amount of nitrogen (3.92gm) in pea and 4.06gm in lentil plants. Plasmids were also analyzed in order to characterize their role in the evolution of rhizobial symbionts and their involvement in symbiotic behaviour. The developed Rhizobium strains with improved symbiotic association and ability to infect across strict specificity for host legumes would be of great help for the farming community at large.

FIRST REPORT OF SCLEROTINIA SCLEROTIORUM CAUSING

In September 2015, approximately 50% of Lens culinaris plants were observed in some farmland in Qazvin province (Iran) showing disease symptoms including rotting in stem, pod, flower and leaves. To obtain pure cultures, fourteen sclerotia were collected from the field, disinfected with 1% NaOCl, placed on potato sucrose agar (PSA) with 100 µg/ml streptomycin, incubated at 22°C in the dark for 10 days and identified based on white mycelium and a ring of large sclerotia at the margin of the plates. The sclerotia were dark brown and 3.5±0.7 mm in size on the average. On the basis of morphology, the fungus was identified as Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary (Bolton et al., 2006). To confirm the identification, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA amplified using the ITS1-ITS4 primer pair (White et al., 1990) and the amplified PCR products were sequenced (five isolates). The BLAST search revealed that our sequence (GenBank accession No. KY049841) had 99% identity with reported sequences of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Ahmed and Akhond, 2015) (HQ833450, KX427540 and KT970793). For pathogenicity test, seven healthy 2-month-old lentil plants were inoculated by placing the inoculum on the base of the stem and kept at room temperature (24°C). Plants were inoculated with a plug of non-colonized PSA as controls. After 2 weeks, dark brown sclerotia were apperceived on the soil surface along with white fluffy mould. The pathogen was re-isolated from symptomatic plant parts, whereas the control plants remained symptom-free. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum causing Sclerotinia rot on L. culinaris in west of Iran

Improving the nutritional value of pulse crops

Improving the nutritional value of pulse crops

Effects of Magnetically Treated Water on Physiological Characteristics of Lens culinaris L.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of magnetically treated water on the growth, antioxidant activity, and other physiological parameters of Lentil (Lens culinaris L.) during both vegetative and reproductive phases. The seeds of Lentil were cultured in greenhouse for 8 months between 10th September 2014 and 8th may 2015. The lentil crop was irrigated with magnetically treated water or no magnetically treated water (control experiment). Tap water was used in this study which was allowed to pass through magnetic field of 110 mT produced by electromagnet and the water becomes magnetically treated water. The results indicated that the values of ferric reducing/antioxidant power, carotenoid, flavonoid, sugar and protein contents in the leaf of the lentil for magnetically treated water were 6.64 μg/g, 2.54 mg/g, 3742.81, 138.35, and 1.64 μg/g, respectively, while the corresponding values for no magnetically treated water were 5.20 μg/g, 2.02 mg/g, 3700.09, 87.52, and 1.48 μg/g. For the seed, the values of ferric reducing/antioxidant power and protein contents with magnetically treated water were 2.25 and 3.50, while the corresponding values with no magnetically treated water (control experiment) were 1.39 and 3.22 μg/g. The analysis of proteins of seeds and leaves by SDS-PAGE also confirmed their increase in those plants which were treated with magnetically treated water. The number of seed in legumes, fresh and dry weights of the seeds was also significantly higher with lentil plant irrigated with magnetically treated water.

Association of 16SrII-C phytoplasma with lentil phyllody disease in Pakistan

In April 2011, lentil (Lens culinaris) plants were found with symptoms reminiscent of phytoplasma infection for the first time in Pakistan. Floral malformation, chlorosis, little leaf and extensive proliferation of branches were the most common symptoms. For the confirmation of phytoplasma, total DNA was extracted separately from eight symptomatic plants and was amplified by nested PCR using universal 16Sr DNA phytoplasma primers P1/P7. One representative PCR product was sequenced in both directions using primers R16F2n/R16R2 and was shown to have 100 % identity to phytoplasmas of the 16SrII-C subgroup. The infectious agent was successfully transmitted both by grafting and by the leafhopper Orosius albicinctus, while transmission via seed failed to produce disease symptoms under glasshouse conditions. Infection of lentils with phytoplasmas has not previously been reported in the literature, so to our knowledge, this is the first report of phytoplasma from the 16SrII-C group naturally infecting lentil in Pakistan.

Effect of germination time on proximate analysis, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) sprouts

The lentil plant, Lens culinaris L., is a member of the Leguminoceae family and constitutes one of the most important traditional dietary components. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of sprouting for 3, 4, 5 and 6 days on proximate, bioactive compounds and antioxidative characteristics of lentil (Lens culinaris) sprouts. Lentil seeds were soaked in distilled water (1:10, w/v) for 12 h at room temperature (~25°C), then kept between thick layers of cotton cloth and allowed to germinate in the dark for 3, 4, 5 and 6 days. The nutritional composition, protein solubility, free amino acids, antinutritional factors, bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity of raw and germinated samples were determined using standard official procedures. Sprouting process caused significant (P ≤ 0.05) increases in moisture, protein, ash, crude fiber, protein solubility, free amino acids, total, reducing and nonreducing sugars. However, oil content, antinutritional factors (tannins and phytic acid) significantly (P ≤ 0.05) decreased. Results indicated that total essential amino acids of lentil seeds protein formed 38.10% of the total amino acid content. Sulfur-containing amino acids were the first limiting amino acid, while threonine was the second limiting amino acid in raw and germinated lentil seeds. Sprouting process has a positive effect on the essential amino acid contents and protein efficiency ratio (PER) of lentil sprouts. Phenolics content increased from 1341.13 mg/100 g DW in raw lentil seeds to 1411.50, 1463.00, 1630.20 and 1510.10 in those samples germinated for 3, 4, 5 and 6 days, respectively. Sprouted seeds had higher DPPH radical scavenging and reducing power activities. Based on these results, sprouting process is recommended to increase nutritive value, and antioxidant activity of lentil seeds.