The sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seed and sprout is a ubiquitous crop with abundant nutrients and biological activities. This review summarizes the nutritional and medical importance currently recognized but under-researched concerning both seed and sprout highlighting the potential benefits of their phytochemical constituents including phenolic acids, flavonoids and tocopherols. Furthermore, the dynamic metabolite changes which occur during germination and biological activities are evaluated. The aim is to provide scientific evidence for improving the dietary and pharmaceutical applications of this common but popular crop as a functional food.

A metabolite profiling methodology based on capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was employed to investigate time-dependent metabolic changes in the course of the sprouting of mung beans (Vigna radiata). Intact mung beans and sprout samples taken during the germination process were subjected to an extraction and fractionation procedure covering a broad spectrum of lipophilic (e.g. fatty acid methyl esters, hydrocarbons, fatty alcohols, sterols) and hydrophilic (e.g. sugars, acids, amino acids, amines) low molecular weight constituents. Investigation of the obtained fractions by GC resulted in the detection of more than 450 distinct peaks of which 146 were identified by means of MS. Statistical assessment of the metabolite profiling data via principal component analysis demonstrated that the metabolic changes during the sprouting of mung beans are reflected by time-dependent shifts of the scores which were comparable for two spouting processes independently conducted under the same conditions. Analysis of the loadings showed that polar metabolites were major contributors to the separation along the first principal component. The dynamic changes of single metabolites revealed significantly increased levels of monosaccharides, organic acids and amino acids and a decrease in fatty acid methyl esters in mung bean sprouts.

Sunflower see/ds ( Helianthus annuus L.) were roasted in an electric forced air oven for 15, 30, 45, and 60 min at 125, 135 and 145 °C. The effect of temperature and time on the flavor profile of the samples were evaluated by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Unsupervised Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) multivariate statistical methods were used to visualize, group and classify the samples. 114 volatiles were identified in the roasted sunflower seeds (RSF), with terpenes (α-pinene, β-pinene), heterocyclic compounds (2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, pyridine), aldehydes (2-methylbutanal, furfural, hexanal, phenylacetaldehyde), hydrocarbons (octane, 2-isobutyl-1,4-dimethylcyclohexane, 6,6-dimethylundecane), alcohol (3-methyl-2-propyl-1-pentanol), and γ-butyrolactone being dominant compounds. The content of most volatile compounds increased with increase in roasting temperature and time, such as esters, terpenes, pyrazines, aldehydes, ketones, and alcohols. 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-3-methylpyrazine, and 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine contributed to be the major role in roast and nutty flavor of the roasted sunflower seeds. Roasting at 125 °C for 45 min was found to be the better condition for roasted sunflower seeds, which gave the lowest off-flavor and burnt tastes.

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. To fight the disease, natural products, including mulberry, with antioxidant activities and inhibitory activities against key enzymes (acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and beta-secretase 1 (BACE-1)) are of interest. However, even in the same cultivars, mulberry trees grown in different populated locations might possess disparate amounts of phytochemical profiles, leading to dissimilar health properties, which cause problems when comparing different cultivars of mulberry. Therefore, this study aimed to comparatively investigate the phytochemicals, antioxidant activities, and inhibitory activities against AChE, BChE, and BACE-1, of twenty-seven Morus spp. cultivated in the same planting area in Thailand. The results suggested that Morus fruit samples were rich in phenolics, especially cyanidin, kuromanin, and keracyanin. Besides, the aqueous Morus fruit extracts exhibited antioxidant activities, both in single electron transfer (SET) and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) mechanisms, while strong inhibitory activities against AD key enzymes were observed. Interestingly, among the twenty-seven Morus spp., Morus sp. code SKSM 810191 with high phytochemicals, antioxidant activities and in vitro anti-AD properties is a promising cultivar for further developed as a potential mulberry resource with health benefits against AD.

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Sacha inchi seeds are abundant in nutrients such as linolenic acids and amino acids. Germination can further enhance their nutritional and medicinal value; however, germination time is positively correlated with off-flavor in germinated seeds. This study investigated the changes in the metabolite and flavor profiles and evaluated the nutritional quality of sacha inchi seeds 8 days after germination (DAG). We also determined their phenolic content and antioxidant activity. We used gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and identified 63 metabolites, including 18 fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). FAMEs had the highest concentration in ungerminated seeds, especially palmitic, stearic, linoleic, linolenic, and oleic acids. Amino acids, total phenolic compounds (TPCs), and antioxidant activity associated with health benefits increased with germination time. At the final germination stage, oxidation products were observed, which are associated with green, beany, and grassy odors and rancid and off-flavors. Germination is a valuable processing step to enhance the nutritional quality of sacha inchi seeds. These 6DAG or 8DAG seeds may be an alternative source of high-value-added compounds used in plant-protein-based products and isolated protein.

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