TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of Growth Stages and Lactic Acid Fermentation on Anti-Nutrients and Nutritional Attributes of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

AU - Naseem, Adila

AU - Akhtar, Saeed

AU - Ismail, Tariq

AU - Qamar, Muhammad

AU - Sattar, Dur-e-shahwar

AU - Saeed, Wisha

AU - Esatbeyoglu, Tuba

AU - Bartkiene, Elena

AU - Rocha, João Miguel

N1 - Funding Information: This work is based upon the work from COST Action 18101 SOURDOMICS—Sourdough biotechnology network towards novel, healthier and sustainable food and bioprocesses ( https://sourdomics.com/ ; https:// www.cost.eu/actions/CA18101/ , accessed on 19 July 12023), where the author J.M.R. is the Chair and Grant Holder Scientific Representative, E.B. is the Vice-Chair and leader of the working group 6 “Project design and development innovative prototypes of products and small-scale processing technologies” and the author T.E. is member of the working groups 4, 6, 7 and 8. SOURDOMICS is supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) ( https://www.cost.eu/ , accessed on 19 July 2023). COST is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Author J.M.R. also acknowledges the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, CBQF—Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina—Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Porto, Portugal, as well as the support made by LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE) and UIDB/00511/2020-UIDP/00511/2020 (LEPABE) funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC).

PY - 2023/9/19

Y1 - 2023/9/19

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - antinutrient

KW - antioxidant activity

KW - fermentation

KW - glucosinolate

KW - growth stages

KW - Spinacia oleracea

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172765912&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3390/microorganisms11092343

DO - 10.3390/microorganisms11092343

M3 - Article

VL - 11

JO - Microorganisms

JF - Microorganisms

SN - 2076-2607

IS - 9

M1 - 2343

ER -