SURVEY OF HEALTH-PROMOTING COMPOUNDS IN SEEDS AND SPROUTS OF BRASSICACEAE

The content of health-promoting compounds is becoming a strong instrument for evaluating the quality of plant-derived foods. For this purpose seeds and sprouts of Brassicas and other two species have been analyzed and compared for ascorbic acid, total polyphenols, total carotenoids and glucosinolates content and antioxidant capacity. A strong variability has been found in the glucosinolates profile. A decreasing trend was detected from seeds to sprouts, while an increasing trend was detected regarding total phenols. The antioxidant capacity generally resulted higher in sprouts, with some exception in seeds. Non-Brassica species showed a low amount in phytochemicals, while a significant correlation by simple regression was found between total polyphenols and antioxidant capacity.