Grains which can be sprouted

With proper moisture and warmth, whole grain seeds begin to sprout into a plant. The sprouting process offers several nutrition benefits, compared to breads made from unsprouted grains or grain flours.

Ultimately, Dave's Killer Bread has a lot going for it. The whole grains , the lack of artificial ingredients, the high fiber and protein content—these are all great. What foods are considered sprouts? Sprouts are skinny little veggies that are big on nutrition. More technically, they begin as seeds that — when exposed to the right temperature and moisture — germinate into very young plants. Common varieties include grain, bean or leafy sprouts. Store sprouted grains in the fridge in a resealable container.

The cold from the fridge will stop the fermentation process. They should last for 5 to 7 days in the fridge. Rinse your grains before you use them in a recipe. Once your grains have sprouted, they are ready to be used! Put whatever amount you want to use into a colander and gently rinse them off. Add your sprouted grains to a salad for extra texture and nutrition. Lettuce, nuts, dried fruits, avocado, peppers, beans—you can add whatever you would like to your salad!

Toss the entire dish in a delicious dressing and enjoy your meal. Mill them into flour to use in your baked goods. Before milling them, dry them in a dehydrator or by leaving them out in the sun. Use a grain mill or something similar to grind them into flour, and then substitute them for regular baking flour. There are many grains that can be sprouted.

Aromatics, which includes fenugreek, horseradish, parsley, fennel, nigella, cumin, coriander and caraway seed. Cereals, including rye, buckwheat, rice, quinoa, barley, millet, corn, kamut, spelt, wheat, oats and amaranth. Legumes, such as daikon, alfalfa, chickpea, mungo bean, spinach, hemp, clover, radish, black radish, Chinese radish, purslane, pea, turnip, lentil, green cabbage, red cabbage, Chinese cabbage, endive, celery, carrot, broccoli, red beetroot and azuki bean.

Liliaceae includes leek, onion and garlic, and muscilaginous plants are mustard, garden cress, watercress, rocket, flax, chia and basil. There are also oleaginous seeds: sunflower, sesame, gourd and almond. Yes No. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 4. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. People with grain sensitivities may be able to enjoy adding sprouts to their diet, as they are much easier to break down and digest.

The surprising answer to your digestive problems? Continue to eat these foods. Well, there's a catch: You must sprout them first. By mimicking a completely natural process, you can activate the inherent power of certain foods to work in your digestive favor.

Not only that, but you might even get more nutrients out of it! We've put together all the questions and facts you need to know about this magical process. Read up, then eat up!

The foods that can be sprouted are all seeds. That's important to know because sprouting is just a way to harness the benefits of a process that happens naturally. Seeds come packed with all the nutrients that an embryo science lingo for a little baby plant needs to grow. When plants drop seeds, it begins the process of growing into a new plant. But seeds are smart, and just like us, they need water to live.

So they only start growing after it rains—otherwise they just lie dormant, and these are typically the seeds we eat. The rain triggers the seeds to germinate the beginning of the growing process and the baby embryo eventually sprouts out of the exterior shell. When foods are called "sprouted," it means manufacturers are replicating this same process of soaking the seeds and allowing them to sprout.

As you'll soon find out, sprouting is one of the best ways to extract the most nutrients from your food. As we already mentioned, sprouted foods are all seeds.

That includes whole grains like wheat, barley, corn, oats, and rice; seeds like quinoa, flax, and chia; nuts like almonds, walnuts, and cashews; and pulses like chickpeas, beans, peas, and lentils; and many others in each of these categories.

Seeds have nutrient stores so that the growing embryo has food before it can get it on its own through the sun or soil. That's why raw seeds are full of enzyme inhibitors, which are molecules that bind to enzymes to keep them from breaking down the seed's food stores until the seed finds the proper conditions. The sprouting process inactivates these enzyme inhibitors, allowing enzymes to get to work and start breaking down starches.

So when you're eating sprouted nuts, grains, seeds, or legumes, you reap the benefits of active digestive enzymes, which can help improve gut health. Because the seed's enzymes essentially pre-digest the starches into simple sugars, it improves the food's digestibility. In particular, the effect of chitosan has been investigated in several non-gramineous species such as bean [ ], soybean [ , , ], lentil [ ], broccoli [ ] and lettuce [ ].

Additionally, yeast polysaccharide YPS has been regarded as an efficient biotic elicitor for stimulating secondary metabolite production.

Exogenous elicitation with yeast extracts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae 0. Other investigated biotic elicitors include mannitol [ ], sucrose [ , , ], glucose [ , , ], glucosamine and collagen [ ] as well as tea tree [ ] and Salix daphnoides bark [ 25 ] extracts. Moreover, among protein elicitors, fish protein hydrolysates FPH —produced from byproduct of fishery industry—seem interesting due to their high content of proline and proline precursors. Supplying some biosynthetic precursors, as well as specific phytohormones, during germination may enhance biosynthesis of secondary metabolites.

Several studies have been conducted on species belonging to Brassicaceae family, applying exogenous elicitors such as methionine, tryptophan, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid SA and methyl jasmonate MeJA , either as soaking solution treatment [ ] or directly sprayed on sprouts [ , , ], in order to evaluate their effects on glucosinolate and polyphenols. Elicitation with MeJA 0.

Similar results are reported by Kim et al. Treatments with pulse electric fields PEF could potentially be used to manipulate seed imbibition and germination, resulting in seedlings with different metabolite compositions. Grains of Triticum aestivum L. Germinated whole grains would be a promising vehicle for food biofortification programs. In brown rice, a recent research by Wei et al. Fe fortification increased Fe concentration of 1. However, the relatively low permeability of some seed coats does not allow obtain fortification with Fe enriched solutions.

Conversely, the same authors observed significantly higher iron concentrations in 5-day old alfalfa sprouts obtained from Fe-soaked seeds.

Plant seeds are able to accumulate Se and to transform it from inorganic to organic form i. In this way, Se-biofortification during sprouting could represent a valid strategy to improve Se concentration in seedlings [ ].

In 3-day old tartary buckwheat sprouts, the total Se concentration tended to rise up with increasing external selenite treatments [ ]. In wheat, Se enriched kernels in combination with some enzymatic and performance traits i. Fortification programs can also be applied during crop cycles, representing a suitable approach to ameliorate the concentration of macro- and micro-elements in whole grains, thus influencing their dynamics during the subsequent germination process.

Foliar Zn fertilization, applied over panicle initiation and grain filling stages, represents an effective agronomic practice to promote rice grains Zn concentration, especially when supplied as Zn-amino acid and ZnSO 4 [ ]. Application of urea containing Zn increased Zn and protein levels in maize grains, showing better results in poor Zn soil [ ]. Both foliar spray and soil application of Se significantly increased Se uptake in common buckwheat, with Se content in grains showing the highest correlation coefficient with soil Se application treatments [ ].

Sprouts are commonly harvested and freshly consumed, since they are naturally characterized by a rapid quality loss at relatively low temperature. As a consequence, there is the need to optimize the storage conditions through temperature control and modified atmosphere or active packaging which allow to finely manage the chemical composition of the package headspace during their shelf life.

At the same time, sprouts consumption has been involved in several foodborne outbreaks due to the lack of a post-germination kill step. Many studies have been conducted over these topics even though little has been found on cereal and pseudo-cereal sprouts.

Anyway, the technologies used on other species are based on common assumptions, although the genotypic variation in biochemical composition of grains may need further optimization protocols. Microbiological contamination of sprouts can be attributable to many potential pre-harvest and post-harvest sources of contaminants, which include seed material, germination medium and soaking water as well as transport, handling and storage of seedlings.

It follows that the production process should be optimized starting from seeds treatments. All the employed strategies to reduce health risks include physical, biological and chemical applications, which are well-detailed and reviewed in Yang et al. Physical intervention methods include high and low temperatures, high pressure, irradiation and supercritical carbon dioxide, while biological interventions concern antagonistic microorganisms and antimicrobial metabolites.

Among chemical interventions there are disinfectants and sanitizers such as ozone and chlorine, as well as electrolyzed water. Chlorine 50— ppm concentration is widely used as the primary post-harvest disinfectant because of its broad antimicrobial activity [ , ]. It can be utilized also as dioxide gas treatment, as demonstrated by studies on mungbean sprouts artificially inoculated by Salmonella which was better controlled than by aqueous chlorine wash in reducing microbiological contamination [ ].

In addition, since chlorine compounds can be inactivated by organic materials present on fresh products and may form various carcinogenic organochlorine compounds, most liquid solutions of organic acids such as lactic, acetic and malic acids have been introduced as alternatives to control pathogenic microorganisms.

In common buckwheat sprouts, Chun and Song [ ] have evaluated the effects on the microbial quality of the combined treatments with aqueous chlorine dioxide ClO 2 , fumaric acid and ultraviolet-C UV-C. Authors found that ppm aqueous ClO 2 , 0.

An environmentally-friendly and cost-effective technology to reduce microbiological risks associated to wheat grains, contaminated with the food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes and the microfungus Botrytis cinerea, was represented by photoactivated chlorophyllin-chitosan complex Chl-KCHS [ ]. Other techniques to ensure the hygienic safety of sprouts could include ionizing radiation treatment, electron beam e-beam or gamma ray irradiation [ , ], as well as their combination with sodium hypochlorite [ ].

However, these techniques are subjected to limitations and are not approved in all countries; in addition, major drawbacks are represented by their detrimental effects on different seed growth parameters.

Low storage temperatures generally curtails the rates of respiration, senescence, and growth of spoilage microorganisms allowing to reduce quality loss [ 4 , ]. However, the selection of optimum storage temperature plays a key role, depending on species-specific sensibility to chilling and natural decay rates.

Anyway, their level of acceptance also in relation to quality traits biochemical composition also needs to be considered [ ]. Of course, the effect of storage temperatures must be evaluated in combination with the atmospheric composition during packaging and with washing treatments on sprouts before packaging, which synergistically contribute to the shelf life hurdle technology. For example, modified atmosphere packaging effectively prolongs the seedlings shelf life by decreasing O 2 and increasing CO 2 partial pressures in the package headspace [ ].

However, factors influencing package atmosphere include product respiration rate, packaging film oxygen transmission rate OTR , product weight, package surface area, and storage temperatures [ ]. Since package size and product weight are often pre-determined in food supply chains, the selection of a packaging film with suitable OTR could represent a suitable way to maintain quality and extend shelf life [ ].

Authors have underlined the importance of optimizing also washing i. In addition to storage conditions, seedlings cooling can also have an impact on post-harvest storage, as observed in mung bean sprouts [ ]. Lu et al. Indeed, Ca treatments are known to contribute to delay leaf senescence by cross linking with pectin polymers in cell wall and protecting cell membrane integrity [ 4 ].

At the very least, the effect of light exposure on quality and phytochemical concentrations of freshly sprouts could be considered, since they are usually displayed under light in grocery stores.

Indeed, light exposure could cause detrimental effects on products quality. Beside the freshly consumption, sprouts can be extracted for juices or dried for soluble powder and enriched flour productions see also Section 1. During powder production the drying process plays the most important role to preserve the biochemical quality of wheatgrass. Different drying methods can be used including hot air oven, microwave and vacuum oven dryings [ ]. In general, the quantitative analysis of antioxidant component of microwave dried wheat grass powder W, 15 min showed the highest mean value of total phenol content, chlorophyll and scavenging ability [ ].

However, seedlings, like all foodstuff rich in phytochemicals, should be dried at low temperature: different drying processes have been proposed and investigated for wheatgrass juice [ ]. Powders from wheatgrass juice can be encapsulated to avoid the undesirable odor and protect the phytochemicals, using maltodextrin and whey protein [ ].

Fermentation is a widespread technique for cereal and pseudo-cereals grass processing, in order to better preserve or promote nutritionally interesting compounds [ ]. Some studies have considered the effect of sprouts addition in the formulation of different products focusing on their technological properties.

However, food technologies are not examined in detail here, because beyond the scope of this review. Some rheological characteristics such as elasticity, water absorption index and viscosity of doughs supplemented with sprouts derivatives could be negatively affected and imply complications and higher production costs.

A detailed review of the chemical modifications occurring during germination has been given in Section 2. Many of those modifications behave like the human digestion process [ ] and implicate an improved availability of macro- and micro-nutrients as confirmed by several in vitro and in vivo studies [ 11 , ].

Therefore, sprouted grains are a complex food matrix, where nutrients are nearly fully available, rich in various antioxidant and bioactive compounds, representing health promoting food. In the past many health benefits have been argued by motivating the strong in vitro antioxidant potential, although the relationship between those data and the redox status measurable in vivo is very weak.

In this chapter only studies that deal with the bioavailability concept will be considered. Nowadays, the most important preclinical and clinical studies have been focused on germinated brown rice which represents the majority of references shown in this review ; anyway, a recent more in-depth review focusing on health benefits of sprouted grains, including also other cereal species, is provided by Lemmens et al.

Germinated brown rice has proven strong potentials for better glycemic control, correction of dyslipidemia, amelioration of oxidative stress, reduced type 1 tissue plasminogen activator inhibitor PAI-1 , enhanced adiponectin concentration, and increased sodium potassium adenosine triphosphatase and homocysteine thiolactonase activities, which are reviewed in detail in Imam et al.

These effects cannot be attributable to a single individual bioactive compound, but rather to a synergic interaction between all the bioactive compounds induced also by the germination process i. The effects of white rice, brown rice and germinated brown rice in the dietary management of cardiovascular diseases have been recently investigated by Imam et al.

In pregnant rats the exposure to high-fat diet plus germinated brown rice until 4 weeks post-delivery, influenced metabolic outcomes in offspring of rats with underlying epigenetic changes and transcriptional implications, that led to improved glucose homeostasis and reduced the risk of insulin resistance manifestations [ ]. Germinated brown rice supplied in the diet also reduced obesity complications in high-fat diet induced-obese rats, through the improvement of lipid profiles and reduction of leptin level and white adipose tissue mass [ ].

Germinated brown rice enhanced insulin levels, insulin receptor, glucose transporters and glucose metabolism in induced-hyperglycemia mice [ ].

In addition, in human SH-SY5Y cells, a neuro-protective effect by gene modulations has been found to be provided by germinated brown rice extracts [ ]. These evidences represent only a preliminary indication on the potential beneficial effects of germinated brown rice, and more research is still required.

The consumption of wheatgrass juice has received particular attention in the case of thalassemics, principally due to its high chlorophyll content. In addition, wheatgrass juice is currently under investigation as a possible therapy for ulcerative colitis as it is rich in apigenin, which is possibly correlated with the normalization during oxidative stresses [ 20 ]. Despite the changes that are naturally found taking place during germination process, it is possible to modulate the factors affecting sprouting, i.

Further research is needed to evaluate: i the optimization of germination process i. These objectives should be achieved also taking into account the productive perspective, pursuing the goals of an innovative agri-food technology beyond home-made production.

National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Nutrients v. Published online Feb Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Received Jan 22; Accepted Feb This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Abstract In the last decade, there has been an increase in the use of sprouted grains in human diet and a parallel increase in the scientific literature dealing with their nutritional traits and phytochemical contents. Keywords: whole grain, germination, sprout, elicitation, phytochemical, health, microbiological safety. Use of Sprouted Seeds in Human Nutrition Sprouting of seeds has been known for a very long time, mainly in the Eastern countries where seedlings are traditionally consumed as an important component of culinary history.

Changing in Chemical Composition during Germination By definition, germination incorporates those events that begin with the uptake of water by the quiescent dry seed and terminate with the elongation of the embryo axis, usually the radicle, which extends to penetrate the structures that surround it [ 23 ]. Carbohydrates 2.

Non-Structural Carbohydrates Since one of the most studied processes on seedling development is the mobilization of complex polymers, such as starch, the substantial alterations in grain carbohydrates have been extensively studied in most of the sprouted grains [ 28 , 29 ]. Structural Carbohydrates Dietary fibers represent an important component of the whole grain. Proteins Whole grains major storage proteins of most cereals are classified according to their solubility properties into albumins water-soluble , globulins salt-soluble , glutelins alkali-soluble , and prolamins alcohol-soluble.

Lipids Even in cereals, where starch is the main carbon store in the endosperm, lipids are abundant in the living tissues of whole grains i. Phytate and Minerals Phytate is highly concentrated in several food items derived from plants; it represents the major storage form of phosphorus in mature grains and legumes [ 68 ]. Antioxidants Whole grains contain high concentrations of antioxidants, such as polyphenols, carotenoids, ascorbic acid and tocopherols, which balance oxidative damages of seedling cell components [ 78 ].

Genotype and Seed Source The most significant role in the determination of nutritional value of sprouted grains is played by the genotype. High and Low Temperatures Few studies investigated on the effects of extreme temperatures applied during germination process on the nutritional quality of sprouted seeds; most of these researches focused on non-gramineous species like for example lentil [ , ], broccoli [ ], alfalfa and radish [ ].

Light Modulation Light is one of the main factors affecting plant growth and development. Salt Stress Salinity causes one of the most important abiotic stresses in plants, especially during the early seedling growth, which is a very salt-sensitive phase.

Hypoxia Stress The alteration of gas composition during germination has been investigated in several species. Other Elicitors Several other abiotic and biotic elicitors as well as plant hormones have been evaluated as potential factors for improved nutritional quality. Biofortification Germinated whole grains would be a promising vehicle for food biofortification programs.

Post-Harvest Storage and Processing Effects on Sprouts Safety and Quality Sprouts are commonly harvested and freshly consumed, since they are naturally characterized by a rapid quality loss at relatively low temperature.

Microbiological Safety Microbiological contamination of sprouts can be attributable to many potential pre-harvest and post-harvest sources of contaminants, which include seed material, germination medium and soaking water as well as transport, handling and storage of seedlings.

Longer Shelf Life Low storage temperatures generally curtails the rates of respiration, senescence, and growth of spoilage microorganisms allowing to reduce quality loss [ 4 , ]. Processing Beside the freshly consumption, sprouts can be extracted for juices or dried for soluble powder and enriched flour productions see also Section 1.

Sprouted Seeds and Human Health A detailed review of the chemical modifications occurring during germination has been given in Section 2.

Author Contributions P. Funding This research received no external funding. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest. References 1. EFSA J. Mir S. Microgreens: Production, shelf life, and bioactive components. Food Sci. Treadwell D. Pant D. Wheatgrass Triticum aestivum L. Supplementation Promotes Longevity in Drosophila melanogaster. Plant Sci. Singh N. Therapeutic potential of organic Triticum aestivum linn. Drug Res. Chomchan R.

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