Lactic Acid Fermentation Ameliorates Intrinsic Toxicants in Brassica campestris L. Leaves Harvested at Different Growth Stages.

Brassica campestris (syn. Brassica rapa) is often known as mustard and is grown worldwide owing to its health-promoting characteristics associated with the presence of nutrients and phytochemicals. Along with the nutritional components, B. campestris also contains anti-nutrients (phytates, oxalates, tannins, alkaloids, saponins) that can cause adverse severe health effects to consumers, including rashes, nausea, headaches, bloating and nutritional deficiencies. In the present study, heating (blanching) and fermentation (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) treatments were applied to reduce the load of the anti-nutrients of B. campestris leaves harvested at three different growth stages: the first stage (fourth week), the second stage (sixth week) and the third stage (eighth week). Results revealed that fermentation treatment using Lp. plantarum increases the ash (5.4 to 6%), protein (9 to 10.4%) and fiber (9.6 to 10.7%) contents, whereas moisture (0.91 to 0.82%), fat (9.9 to 9.1%) and carbohydrate (64.5 to 64.2%) contents decreased among B. campestris samples, and the trend was similar for all three stages. Blanching and fermentation lead to the reduction in phytates (46, 42%), saponins (34, 49%), tannins (1, 10%), oxalates (15, 7%) and alkaloids (10, 6%), separately as compared to raw samples of B. campestris leaves. In contrast, fermentation had no considerable effect on phytochemical contents (total phenolic and total flavonoids) and antioxidant potential (DPPH and FRAP). The action of blanching followed by fermentation caused more decline in the aforementioned toxicants load as compared to blanching or fermentation alone. Structural modifications in blanching and the biochemical conversions in fermentation lead to enhanced stability of nutrients and antioxidant potential. Taken together, these findings suggest blanching followed by fermentation treatments as a reliable, cost-effective and safer approach to curtail the anti-nutrient load without affecting the proximate composition, phytochemical attributes and antioxidant activity.

Effect of Growth Stages and Lactic Acid Fermentation on Anti-Nutrients and Nutritional Attributes of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea).

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a winter-season green, leafy vegetable grown all over the world, belonging to the family Amaranthus, sub-family Chenopodiaceae. Spinach is a low-caloric food and an enormous source of micronutrients, e.g., calcium, folates, zinc, retinol, iron, ascorbic acid and magnesium. Contrarily, it also contains a variety of anti-nutritional factors, e.g., alkaloids, phytates, saponins, oxalates, tannins and many other natural toxicants which may hinder nutrient-absorption. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of fermentation on improving the nutrient-delivering potential of spinach and mitigating its burden of antinutrients and toxicants at three growth stages: the 1st growth stage as baby leaves, the 2nd growth stage at the coarse stage, and the 3rd growth stage at maturation. The results revealed the significant (p < 0.05) effect of fermentation on increasing the protein and fiber content of spinach powder from 2.53 to 3.53% and 19.33 to 22.03%, respectively, and on reducing total carbohydrate content from 52.92 to 40.52%; the effect was consistent in all three growth stages. A significant decline in alkaloids (6.45 to 2.20 mg/100 g), oxalates (0.07 mg/100 g to 0.02 mg/100 g), phytates (1.97 to 0.43 mg/100 g) and glucosinolates (201 to 10.50 µmol/g) was observed as a result of fermentation using Lactiplantibacillus plantarum. Fermentation had no impact on total phenolic content and the antioxidant potential of spinach, as evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. This study proposes fermentation as a safer bioprocess for improving the nutrient-delivering potential of spinach, and suggests processed powders made from spinach as a cost-effective complement to existing plant proteins.

The Comparative Effect of Lactic Acid Fermentation and Germination on the Levels of Neurotoxin, Anti-Nutrients, and Nutritional Attributes of Sweet Blue Pea (Lathyrus sativus L.).

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.), an indigenous legume of the subcontinental region, is a promising source of protein and other nutrients of health significance. Contrarily, a high amount of ß-N-oxalyl-l-α,ß-diaminopropionic acid (ß-ODAP) and other anti-nutrients limits its wider acceptability as healthier substitute to protein of animal and plant origin. This study was aimed at investigating the effect of different processing techniques, viz. soaking, boiling, germination, and fermentation, to improve the nutrient-delivering potential of grass pea lentil and to mitigate its anti-nutrient and toxicant burden. The results presented the significant (p < 0.05) effect of germination on increasing the protein and fiber content of L. sativus from 22.6 to 30.7% and 15.1 to 19.4%, respectively. Likewise, germination reduced the total carbohydrate content of the grass pea from 59.1 to 46%. The highest rate of reduction in phytic acid (91%) and ß-ODAP (37%) were observed in germinated grass pea powder, whereas fermentation anticipated an 89% reduction in tannin content. The lactic acid fermentation of grass pea increased the concentration of calcium, iron, and zinc from 4020 to 5100 mg/100 g, 3.97 to 4.35 mg/100 g, and 3.52 to 4.97 mg/100 g, respectively. The results suggest that fermentation and germination significantly (p < 0.05) improve the concentration of essential amino acids including threonine, leucine, histidine, tryptophan, and lysine in L. sativus powder. This study proposes lactic acid fermentation and germination as safer techniques to improve the nutrient-delivering potential of L. sativus and suggests processed powders of the legume as a cost-effective alternative to existing plant proteins.

Effect of Thermal and Non-Thermal Processing on Nutritional, Functional, Safety Characteristics and Sensory Quality of White Cabbage Powder.

This study was aimed to improve nutritional, functional and consumer safety aspects of cabbage powder (CP). White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba) was dehydrated to CP following microwave heating, blanching, alkali or acid washing treatments. The results for nutrients and mineral composition of raw and processed CP elucidated raw CP to exhibit significantly (p < 0.05) higher amounts of protein (12.2%), dietary fiber (25.2%), Na (52 mg/100 g), Ca (355 mg/100 g), K (286 mg/100 g), Fe (14 mg/100 g) and Zn (32 mg/100 g). Among different processing techniques, microwave treatment resulted in a higher rate of reduction for alkaloids, oxalates, tannins and phytates contents, i.e., 77%, 85%, 85%, and 86%, respectively. Likewise, microwave treatment was found more effective in reducing residual levels of neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, organophosphates including imidacloprid, cypermethrin, bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos and deltamethrin in cabbage in the range of 0.98−0.12 ppm, 1.22−0.23 ppm, 1.03−0.15 ppm, 1.97−0.43 ppm, and 2.12−0.36 ppm, respectively. CP supplementation at the rate of 5% in unleavened flatbreads was observed to maintain textural and sensory attributes of the product. The results suggest microwave heating as a cost-effective technique to reduce toxicants load in cabbage powder. Further, ~5% supplementation of CP in wheat flour may also improve nutritional and functional properties of the baked goods.

Antioxidant Effect of Ocimum basilicum Essential Oil and Its Effect on Cooking Qualities of Supplemented Chicken Nuggets.

A commonly observed chicken meat issue is its lipid oxidation that leads to deterioration of its organoleptic and nutritional properties and its further-processed products. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is one of the traditional culinary herbs exhibiting food preservation properties. The current study investigated the essential oil composition, antioxidant activity and in vitro cytotoxic capacity of the essential oil of basil indigenous to Pakistan. GC-MS analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of 59 compounds that constituted 98.6% of the essential oil. O. basilicum essential oil (OB-EO) exhibited excellent antioxidant activity, i.e., IC50 5.92 ± 0.15 µg/mL as assayed by the DPPH assay, 23.4 ± 0.02 µmoL Fe/g by FRAP, and 14.6 ± 0.59% inhibition by H2O2. The brine shrimp lethality assay identified an average mortality of ~18% with OB-EO at 10-1000 µg/mL, while that of the same concentration range of the standard drug (etoposide) was 72%. OB-EO was found to be non-toxic to HeLa and PC-3 cell lines. TBARS contents were significantly decreased with increase of OB-EO in chicken nuggets. The lowest TBARS contents were recorded in nuggets supplemented with 0.3% OB-EO, whereas the highest overall acceptability score was marked to the treatments carrying 0.2% OB-EO. The results suggest OB-EO as a promising carrier of bioactive compounds with a broad range of food preservation properties, and which has a sensory acceptability threshold level for chicken nuggets falling between 0.2-0.3% supplementation. Future research must investigate the antibacterial impact of OB-EO on meat products preserved with natural rather than synthetic preservatives.

Nutritional perspectives for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19.

Worldwide, there is an array of clinical trials under way to evaluate treatment options against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Concurrently, several nutritional therapies and alternative supportive treatments are also being used and tested to reduce the mortality associated with acute respiratory distress in patients with COVID-19. In the context of COVID-19, improved nutrition that includes micronutrient supplementation to augment the immune system has been recognized as a viable approach to both prevent and alleviate the severity of the infection. The potential role of micronutrients as immune-boosting agents is particularly relevant for low- and middle-income countries, which already have an existing high burden of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. A systematic literature review was performed to identify nutritional interventions that might prevent or aid in the recovery from COVID-19. The PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched electronically from February to April 2020. All abstracts and full-text articles were examined for their relevance to this review. The information gathered was collated under various categories. Deficiencies of micronutrients, especially vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, zinc, iron, and selenium, are common among vulnerable populations in general and among COVID-19 patients in particular and could plausibly increase the risk of mortality. Judicious use of need-based micronutrient supplementation, alongside existing micronutrient fortification programs, is warranted in the current global pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income economies.