Accumulation of Agmatine, Spermidine, and Spermine in Sprouts and Microgreens of Alfalfa, Fenugreek, Lentil, and Daikon Radish

Abstract

Sprouts and microgreens are a rich source of various bioactive compounds. Seeds of lentil, fenugreek, alfalfa, and daikon radish seeds were germinated and the contents of the polyamines agmatine (AGM), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM) in ungerminated seeds, sprouts, and microgreens were determined. In general, sprouting led to the accumulation of the total polyamine content. The highest levels of AGM (5392 mg/kg) were found in alfalfa microgreens, PUT (1079 mg/kg) and CAD (3563 mg/kg) in fenugreek sprouts, SPD (579 mg/kg) in lentil microgreens, and SPM (922 mg/kg) in fenugreek microgreens. A large increase in CAD content was observed in all three legume sprouts. Conversely, the nutritionally beneficial polyamines AGM, SPD, and SPM were accumulated in microgreens, while their contents of CAD were significantly lower. In contrast, daikon radish sprouts exhibited a nutritionally better profile of polyamines than the microgreens. Freezing and thawing of legume sprouts resulted in significant degradation of CAD, PUT, and AGM by endogenous diamine oxidases. The enzymatic potential of fenugreek sprouts can be used to degrade exogenous PUT, CAD, and tyramine at pH values above 5.

Accumulation and Transformation of Biogenic Amines and Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) in Chickpea Sourdough

“…Among fermented foods, only certain acid-cured cheeses [44] and soy sauces [45] contain more CAD on a DW basis. The exception with high CAD contents is also some legume sprouts, but in these, CAD accumulates due to endogenous biosynthesis rather than due to microbial decarboxylases [33]. The contents of CAD in the sourdough of Flour-3 (47.4 mg/100 g; 48 h) were significantly higher than in spontaneously fermented Flour-1 (1.4 mg/100 g, 48 h) and lower than in Flour-2 after both incubation periods.…”

“…Derivatization was performed in a 1.5 mL centrifuge tube, as previously described [33]. First, 250 µL of calibration solution (mixture of standards in 0.4 M HCl) or sample (clear supernatant) was pipetted, and then, 50 µL of 2 M NaOH, 75 µL of saturated solution of NaHCO 3 and 500 µL of DNS-Cl solution (10 g/L in acetone) were added with each addition mixed with a vortex.…”

“…The dansylated derivatives were separated on a Kinetex XB-C18 (5 µm, 100 Å, 150 × 4.6 mm) column with a guard column of the same particle size (Phenomenex, Torrence, CA, USA) on Agilent HPLC system 1100 (Palo Alto, CA, USA), as described pre-viously [33]. The conditions used were as follows: column temperature, 30 • C; injection volume, 10 µL; and mobile phase flow rate, 700 µL/min.…”

“…Fenugreek sprouts, which are a rich source of amine oxidases, were grown and harvested as previously described [33]. Fresh sprouts were lyophilized and homogenized using a ball homogenizer (MM40, Retsch, Haan, Germany) for 30 s with a frequency of 30 s −1 , stored at room temperature, and used for experiments within one week after homogenization.…”

“…Alternatively, the oxidation of biogenic amines can be done in the food matrix itself before consumption. Fenugreek sprouts, which are a rich source of diamine oxidases [33], can potentially be used to reduce the undesirable BA content in sourdoughs.…”