Metabolic, biochemical, mineral and fatty acid profiles of edible Brassicaceae microgreens establish them as promising functional food

Abstract

Hidden hunger due to micronutrient deficiencies affecting one in three people is a global concern. Identifying functional foods which provide vital health beneficial components in addition to the nutrients is of immense health relevance. Microgreens are edible seedlings enriched with concentrated minerals and phytochemicals whose dietary potential as functional foods needs evaluation. In this study, comprehensive biochemical, mineral, metabolic, and fatty acid profiles of four Brassicaceae microgreens- mustard, pak choi, radish pink, and radish white has been investigated. The biochemical profiling confirms their promising nutritional and antioxidant nature. Mineral profiling using ICP-MS exhibited promising levels of Fe, Mn, Mg, K, and Ca in microgreens indicating them as excellent sources of minerals. GC–MS based metabolite profiling highlighted a range of phytochemicals- sugars, amino acids, organic acids, amines, fatty acids, phenols, and other molecules. Fatty acid profiling established promising levels of health beneficial oleic acid and linoleic acids. It is estimated that fresh microgreens can meet about 20 % to 50 % recommended dietary allowance of macro/micro-minerals along with providing useful fatty acids and antioxidants. Overall, the study highlighted Brassicaceae microgreens as an excellent nutrient source that can act as functional foods with promising potential to overcome ''hidden hunger''.

Keywords

• Microgreens
• Functional food
• Fatty acids
• Metabolomics
• GC-MS
• ICP-MS