Potassium Nitrate and Ascorbic Acid Priming Improved Tissue Chemical Composition and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Linseed (LinumusitatissimumL.) Sprout
Abstract
Potassiumnitrate(KNO3) and ascorbicacid (AsA)primingcan effectivelyboost biomassaccumulationand nutritionalvalue of plants;nevertheless,few studiesinvestigatedtheir effectson seed sprouting.Thus,we aimedto explorethe effectsof KNO3and AsA primingon linseed(LinumusitatissimumL.) sproutgrowthand assessthe changesin bioactivecompoundlevels,whichprovidevaluableinsightsinto the potentialbenefitsof these primingtreatmentson sproutqualityand nutritionalvalue. To thisend, germination,biomassaccumulation,photosyntheticpigments,primaryand secondarymetabolites,and mineralprofilesin the primedsproutswereevaluated.Moreover,to assess the impacton biologicalvalue, we determinedthe antioxidantand antimicrobialactivitiesof the treatedsproutextract.Amarkedenhancementwas observedin germinationand pigmentlevels ofKNO3- and AsA-primedsprouts.Theseincreaseswere in line with inducedprimarymetabolites(e.g., carbohydrateand aminoacid contents),particularlyunder KNO3treatment.There was also an increaseinaminoacid metabolism(e.g., increasedGS, GDH,and GOGATenzymeactivities),nitrogenlevel, and nitratereductase(NR)activity.The linseedsproutsprimedwith AsA exhibitedstrongantioxidantand antibacterialactivities.Consistently,high levels ofpolyphenols,flavonoids,total AsA, and tocopherols,as well as improvedactivityof antioxidantenzymes[peroxidase(POX),catalase(CAT),and superoxidedismutase(SOD)],were recorded.This study proposesKNO3and AsA primingas an innovativeapproachto improvingthe nutritionaland health-promotingpropertiesof linseedsprouts.This knowledgewill contributeto a betterunderstandingof the biochemicalprocessesinvolvedin improvingthe nutritionalqualityand functionalbenefitsof linseedsprout
