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. 2021 Feb 15;10(2):427.
doi: 10.3390/foods10020427.

Small Functional Foods: Comparative Phytochemical and Nutritional Analyses of Five Microgreens of the Brassicaceae Family

Ilaria Marchioni  1 , Marco Martinelli  2 , Roberta Ascrizzi  3 , Costanza Gabbrielli  3 , Guido Flamini  3   4 , Luisa Pistelli  3   4 , Laura Pistelli  1   4
Affiliations

Small Functional Foods: Comparative Phytochemical and Nutritional Analyses of Five Microgreens of the Brassicaceae Family

Ilaria Marchioni et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Microgreens are the seedlings of herbs and vegetables which are harvested at the development stage of their two cotyledonary leaves, or sometimes at the emergence of their rudimentary first pair of true leaves. They are functional foods, the consumption of which is steadily increasing due to their high nutritional value. The species of the Brassicaceae family are good sources of bioactive compounds, with a favorable nutritional profile. The present study analyzed some phytochemical compounds with nutritional values, such as chlorophylls, polyphenols, carotenoids, anthocyanins, ascorbic acid, total and reducing sugars, and the antioxidant activity of five Brassicaceae species: broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.), daikon (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (L.) Domin), mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.), rocket salad (Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.), and watercress (Nasturtium officinale R.Br.). Broccoli had the highest polyphenol, carotenoid and chlorophyll contents, as well as a good antioxidant ability. Mustard was characterized by high ascorbic acid and total sugar contents. By contrast, rocket salad exhibited the lowest antioxidant content and activity. The essential oil (EO) composition of all of these species was determined in order to identify their profile and isothiocyanates content, which are compounds with many reported health benefits. Isothiocyanates were the most abundant group in broccoli (4-pentenyl isothiocyanate), mustard (allyl isothiocyanate), and watercress (benzyl isothiocyanate) EOs, while rocket salad and daikon exhibited higher contents of monoterpene hydrocarbons (myrcene) and oxygenated diterpenes (phytol), respectively. Broccoli microgreens exhibited the overall best nutritional profile, appearing as the most promising species to be consumed as a functional food among those analyzed.

Keywords: anthocyanins; antioxidant activity; arugula; ascorbic acid; broccoli; carotenoids; daikon; essential oil; isothiocyanates; mustard; polyphenols; rocket salad; watercress; white radish.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photos of the analyzed plant material. (a) Broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.); (b) Daikon (Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (L.) Domin); (c) Mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.); (d) Rocket salad (Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.); (e) Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R.Br.).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Two-way dendrogram obtained using the hierarchical cluster analysis performed on the complete essential oil (EO) compositions for all of the analyzed species.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Score (a) and loadings (b) plots obtained using the principal component analysis performed on the complete EO compositions for all of the analyzed species.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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