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. 2020 May 1;9(5):547.
doi: 10.3390/foods9050547.

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

Irena Kralj Cigić  1 , Sašo Rupnik  2 , Tjaša Rijavec  1 , Nataša Poklar Ulrih  2 , Blaž Cigić  2
Affiliations

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

Irena Kralj Cigić et al. Foods. .

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.

Keywords: biogenic amines; diamine oxidase; germination; lens culinaris; medicago sativa; polyamines; raphanus sativus; trigonella foenum-graecum.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure A1
Figure A1
Time-dependent change in the content of polyamines (agmatine (AGM), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM)) during thawing of the frozen sprouts of (a) lentil, (b) alfalfa, and (c) daikon radish.
Figure A2
Figure A2
Time-dependent degradation of (a) tryptamine (TRP), (b) phenethylamine (PHE), and (c) histamine (HIS) by homogenized fenugreek sprouts at different pH values.
Figure A3
Figure A3
Chromatograms of dansylated 1,7-diaminoheptane (IS) and the polyamines agmatine (AGM), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM) extracted from (a) microgreens, (b) sprouts, and (c) ungerminated seeds of fenugreek—fluorescence detector (350/520 nm).
Figure 1
Figure 1
Chromatograms of the standard solution (11 mg/L) of the dansylated biogenic amines agmatine (AGM), tryptamine (TRP), phenethylamine (PHE), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), histamine (HIS), 1,7-diaminoheptane (IS), tyramine (TYR), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM). (a) fluorescence detector (350/520 nm) and (b) UV–vis (254 nm).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Content of the polyamines agmatine (AGM), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM) in seeds, sprouts and microgreens of (a) lentil, (b) fenugreek, (c) alfalfa, and (d) daikon radish. The data are presented on a logarithmic scale and expressed on a dry weight basis. When the content of a given polyamine in seeds, sprouts, and microgreens differs significantly, it is labeled with different letters.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Time-dependent changes in the content of polyamines (agmatine (AGM), putrescine (PUT), cadaverine (CAD), spermidine (SPD), and spermine (SPM)) during thawing of the frozen fenugreek sprouts.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Time-dependent degradation of (a) putrescine, (b) cadaverine, and (c) tyramine by homogenized fenugreek sprouts at different pH values.
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