Multi-Functional Development and Utilization of Rapeseed: Comprehensive Analysis of the Nutritional Value of Rapeseed Sprouts

Abstract

Rapeseed is the third largest oil crop in the world and the largest oil crop in China. The multi-functional development and utilization of rapeseed is an effective measure for the high-quality development of rapeseed industry in China. In this study, several basic nutrients of eight rapeseed sprouts and five bean sprouts (3–5 varieties each) were determined, including sugar, crude protein, crude fiber, vitamin E, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, and glucosinolates. Data analysis revealed that compared with bean sprouts, rapeseed sprouts were nutritionally balanced and were richer in active nutrients such as glucose, magnesium, selenium, vitamin E, and glucosinolate. Moreover, rapeseed sprouts exhibited reasonable amino acid composition and abundant unsaturated fatty acids (accounting for 90.32% of the total fatty acids). All these results indicated the potential of rapeseed sprout as a functional vegetable. Subsequently, three dominant nutrients including vitamin E, glucosinolate, and selenium were investigated in seeds and sprouts of 44 B. napus L. varieties. The results showed that germination raised the ratio of α-tocopherol/γ-tocopherol from 0.53 in seeds to 9.65 in sprouts, greatly increasing the content of α-tocopherol with the strongest antioxidant activity among the eight isomers of vitamin E. Furthermore, germination promoted the conversion and accumulation of glucosinolate components, especially, glucoraphanin with strong anti-cancer activity with its proportion increased from 1.06% in seeds to 1.62% in sprouts. In addition, the contents of selenium, vitamin E, and glucosinolate in rapeseed sprouts were highly correlated with those in seeds. Furthermore, these three dominant nutrients varied greatly within B. napus varieties, indicating the great potential of rapeseed sprouts to be further bio-enhanced. Our findings provide reference for the multi-purpose development and utilization of rapeseed, lay a theoretical foundation for the development of rapeseed sprout into a functional vegetable, and provide a novel breeding direction.

Rapeseed Meal and Its Application in Pig Diet: A Review

“…Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the yield of rapeseed in China has reached 14.05 million tons in 2020, which has become one of the major protein crops (Figure 1). The rapeseed oil is mainly utilized for human diet and the rapeseed meal (RSM) is a co-product which is commonly used as a protein source in animal diets after the oil has been extracted [3]. RSM is abundant in crude protein and has well-balanced essential amino acids, which is very close to the published values of soybean protein from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization [4].…”

“…Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the yield of rapeseed in China has reached 14.05 million tons in 2020, which has become one of the major protein crops (Figure 1). The rapeseed oil is mainly utilized for human diet and the rapeseed meal (RSM) is a co-product which is commonly used as a protein source in animal diets after the oil has been extracted [3].…”

A Comprehensive Review of Health-Benefiting Components in Rapeseed Oil

“…In rapeseed oil, it is revealed that the concentration of vitamin E is up to 608.90 mg/Kg ( Table 2 ) [ 23 ]. In another study by Xiao et al the vitamin E content was within the range of 8.3–727.6 mg/Kg ( Table 2 ) [ 7 ]. There are eight components (α-, β-, γ-, δ-tocopherol, and α-, β-, γ-, δ-tocotrienol) that form vitamin E. Tocotrienols are similar to tocopherol but each of them has an unsaturated isoprenoid side chain [ 24 , 25 ].…”

“…It is reported that Canada, Europe, and China are the leading producers of rapeseed oil in the world. In 1979, the Western Canadian oil seed Association proposed the term “canola” to describe the rapeseed varieties that embrace less than 5% erucic acid and less than 40 umol/g of glucosinolates, which is referred to as “double low” rapeseed oil [ 7 ]. Although the production is after palm oil and soybean oil, compared with palm oil, the SFA in rapeseed oil is lower than in palm oil which daily intake can lead to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Precise Determination of Selenium Forms and Contents in Selenium-Enriched Rapeseed Seedlings and Flowering Stalks by HPLC-ICP-MS

“…In order to improve the economic value of rapeseed, a multipurpose development and utilization strategy for rapeseed has been proposed, which includes the vegetable value of rapeseed seedlings and flowering stalks. A current study has demonstrated the ability of rapeseed to be rich in Se . However, the lack of a nutritional quality evaluation system for Se-rich rapeseed, especially its selenide form, has seriously limited its industrial development and utilization.…”