Increased environmental pollution and unhealthy lifestyle are blamed for escalated chronic diseases. Exposure to aflatoxins was recently suggested to have a role in the increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Diet modification and consumption of different functional food are now gaining attention, especially in diabetes management. This study investigates the effect of a diet containing barley microgreen against diabetes induced by streptozotocin with or without aflatoxin administration in rats. Barley microgreen was rich in 3′-Benzyloxy-5,6,7,4′-tetramethoxyflavone (48.8% of total) followed by 5β,7βH,10α-Eudesm-11-en-1α-ol (18.46%). Streptozotocin injection and/or aflatoxin administration significantly elevated glucose level, decreased insulin level, decreased β-cell function, deteriorated liver and kidney function parameters, and induced oxidative stress in the liver. Histopathology revealed irregular small-sized islets and decreased area % of insulin-positive beta cells in the pancreas, hepatic degeneration, nephropathy, and neuropathy in diabetic and/or aflatoxin administered rats compared to control. Barley microgreen diet fed to diabetic rats with or without aflatoxin alleviated all evaluated parameters. Barley microgreen diet also ameliorated the toxic effect of aflatoxin. In conclusion, exposure to aflatoxin aggravated diabetes and its complication. The incorporation of barley microgreen in the diet was able to control type 2 diabetes mellitus and the improved outcomes observed with barley microgreen treatments involved or occurred in conjunction with improved biomarkers of oxidative stress.

The impact of household processes on fenugreek leaves and seeds has been analyzed for total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid content (TF), and in-vitro biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Processes included air-drying for leaves and germinating, soaking, and boiling for seeds. Air-dried fenugreek leaves (ADFL) had high TP (15.27 mg GAE g−1 D.W.) and TF (7.71 mg QE g−1 D.W.) (milligram quercetin equivalents per gram dry weight). The TP contents of unprocessed, germinated, soaked, and boiled seeds were 6.54, 5.60, 4.59, and 3.84 mg gallic acid equivalents per gram of dry weight (mg GAE g−1 D.W.), respectively. The TF contents in unprocessed fenugreek seeds, germinated fenugreek seeds, soaked fenugreek seeds, and boiled fenugreek seeds (BFS) were 4.23, 2.11, 2.10, and 2.33 mg QE g−1 D.W., respectively. Sixteen phenolic and nineteen flavonoid compounds has been identified using high-performance liquid chromatography. Antioxidant activity using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil (DPPH·), 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS+·), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP·) assays indicated that ADFL had the highest activity. Antimicrobial activity has been evaluated against each of the eight pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. ADFL showed the strongest activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations values ranging from 0.03 to 1.06 and 0.04 to 1.18 mg ml·1 against bacterial and fungal strains, respectively. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in-vitro against RAW 264.7 macrophage cells using the nitric oxide (NO) assay. Results revealed that ADFL had the highest cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activity according to the NO assay. Household processes significantly reduced the in-vitro biological properties of processed seeds.

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM) is a common chronic disease worldwide, which may be due to increased environmental pollution. Aflatoxin B1 is a likely inevitable contaminant in food and dairy products. Both DM and aflatoxicosis exert a deleterious effect on reproduction urging the exploration of various functional food for protection. This study investigated the effect of barley microgreen (BM) on reproductive disorders caused by DM with or without aflatoxicosis in male rats. Rats were divided into eight groups; G1 control, G2 barley, G3 aflatoxin, G4 aflatoxin-barley, G5 streptozotocin (STZ), G6 STZ-barley, G7 STZ-aflatoxin, and G8 STZ-aflatoxin-barley. BM chemical composition revealed elevated calcium, iron, phosphorus, and vitamin A compared with barely seeds. Complete blood picture, lipid profile, serum oxidative stress parameters, relative testicular weight, sperm analysis, chromosomal aberration, and testis histopathology were performed. The lipid profile was altered significantly in G7. Oxidative stress was increased in G3, G5, and G7, whereas it was decreased in BM-treated groups. Sperm counts were reduced significantly in aflatoxin and/or STZ groups but increased significantly in BM-treated groups. Sperm morphological abnormalities and chromosomal aberrations were decreased significantly in BM-treated groups compared with untreated groups. Testicular histopathology revealed moderate diffuse degeneration of seminiferous tubules in aflatoxin and/or STZ groups, which were alleviated in BM-treated groups. In conclusion, aflatoxin and STZ together caused severe reproductive disorder and oxidative stress more than aflatoxin or STZ alone. BM diet reduced significantly oxidative stress and reproductive disorder associated with DM and aflatoxicosis in rats.

The impact of household processes on fenugreek leaves and seeds was analyzed for total phenolic (TP) and total flavonoid content (TF), and in-vitro biological activities such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Processes included air-drying of leaves and germinating, soaking, and boiling of seeds. Air-dried fenugreek leaves (ADFL) had high TP (15.27 mg GAE/g D.W.) and TF (7.71 mg QE/g D.W.). The TF of unprocessed, germinated, soaked, and boiled seeds had 6.54, 5.60, 4.59, and 3.84 mg GAE/g D.W., respectively. The TF in UFS, GFS, SFS, and BFS were 4.23, 2.11, 2.10, and 2.33 mg QE/g D.W., respectively. Sixteen phenolic and nineteen flavonoid compounds were identified using the HPLC. Antioxidant activity using DPPH•, ABTS+•, and FRAP• assays indicated that ADFL had high activity. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated against each eight pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. ADFL showed a strong activity with MIC values ranging from 0.03 to 1.06 and 0.04 to 1.18 mg ml− 1 against bacterial and fungal strains, respectively. Anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated in-vitro against RAW 264.7 macrophage cells using of NO assay. Results revealed that ADFL had the highest cytotoxicity and anti-inflammatory activity according to NO assay. Household processes significantly declined the in-vitro biological properties of processed seeds.