Bioactive Characteristics and Storage of Salt Mixtures Seasoned with Powdered Cereal Sprouts

Abstract

Sprouting is a process that can improve nutritional and beneficial properties of seeds. This work studies the design of the new healthier product salt seasoned with freeze-dried powdered cereal sprouts. The cereal sprouts mixture (SM), including barley sprouts (BS), oat sprouts (OS), and wheat sprouts (WS), was optimized in terms of total phenolic content (TPh) and antioxidant capacity (AC). The sprouts mixture with optimal features (OSM), composed of 92.9% BS, 0% OS, and 7.1% WS, had 482.82 mg GAE/100 g of polyphenols and 797.97 µmol TE/100 g antioxidant capacity. HPLC analysis showed that the most abundant phenolic compound in OMS was gallic acid (94.27 mg/100 g). OSM was mixed with salt in different ratios (1 : 1, 1 : 2, and 1 : 3) and stored in transparent and amber bottles for six months. Colour, TPh, and AC retention of seasoned salts and OSM was significantly better (p<0.05) preserved in amber bottles during storage, protected from light. The sprout content was in correlation with TPh and AC retention and colour change. These results suggest that cereal sprouts can be used as a safe ingredient for food products such as seasoned salt, adding value to the basic daily diet with no changes in dietary habits.