99A-4 |
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R. O. RANDHIR1, L. Yuan-Tong2, and K. Shetty2. (1) Dept. of Food Science, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, Chenoweth Lab., Amherst, MA 01003-1410, (2) Food Science, Univ. of Massachusetts Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum ) is rich in phenolic phytochemicals that are thought to account for many of its therapeutic effects. Considering its diverse uses, we were interested in studying the stimulation of total phenolics and related antioxidant/ antimicrobial activity in dark germinated fenugreek sprouts. The primary objective of this research was to stimulate the phenylpropanoid pathway via the pentose phosphate and shikimate pathways by natural elicitors such as Fish Protein Hydrolysates (FPH), Lactoferrin (LF) and Oregano Extract (OE) to improve the phenolic, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of fenugreek sprouts. The ideal concentration for maximum elicitor response was determined by testing various dilutions of each elicitor. Seeds were soaked in treatment solutions for 24 hours, dark germinated and sprouts were analyzed. The parameters measured to characterize the effect of these elicitors were total phenolics, antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, L-DOPA (levo-dihydroxy phenylalanine), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Elicitation significantly improved the phenolic, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of the dark germinated fenugreek sprouts. Among treatments 0.5 ml /L FPH elicited fenugreek sprouts had the highest phenolic content on day 3, which was 43% higher than control. It also elicited the highest L-DOPA synthesis of 1.6 mg/g FW on day 2. For all treatments and control higher antioxidant activities were observed during early germination indicating that fenugreek could quench the superoxide free radicals and scavenge hydrogen peroxide effectively. In general, the G6PDH, GPX and SOD activities in the elicited sprouts were higher than control. High antimicrobial activity against peptic ulcer-linked Helicobacter pylori was observed in sprout extracts from control and LF treatments only. The major implication from this study is that natural elicitors can significantly stimulate the phenolic antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of fenugreek sprouts.
Session 99A, Biotechnology: General
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