Microgreens are vegetables, younger than baby greens and older than sprouts, harvested ~7-14 days after seeds are cultivated. Cruciferous microgreens are of special interest due to the well documented health-promoting effects of their mature counterparts. Kale consumption has increased dramatically in recent years, elucidating the similarities/differences between Kale (Darkibor variety) and Kale microgreen would provide consumers with science-based information for their food choice. However, little is known of the bioactive compound content in the microgreens compared to the mature vegetable, as well as their health benefit, thus warrant further elucidation. In this study, kale microgreen was compared to its counterpart, mature kale. The reported health-promoting phytochemicals, glucosinolates and polyphenols, were characterized by UHPLC-HRMS analysis. The analysis showed that the total concentration of polyphenols in microgreen kale is slightly higher (22.46 ± 1.24 mg/g) than in mature kale (20.0 ± 5.3 mg/g). However, the polyphenol compound profiles are markedly different; a wider variety of polyphenol compounds were found in the mature (N(profile)=19) than in the microgreen (N(profile)=12). The caffeoyl glycoside, feruloyl glucose, sinapoyl glycoside and quercetin-3-disinapoyl- triglucoside-7-glucoside were only detected in the microgreens. Moreover, trisinapoyl-diglucoside content in the microgreen (327.58 μg/ml) was ~30X greater than the mature counterpart (12.58 μg/ml). For glucosinolates, microgreens and mature kale have very similar compound profiles. However, microgreen (29.3 ± 2.66 μmol/g) had ~5X more total glucosinolates than the mature (4.14 ± 0.64 μmol/g). Specifically, glucosativin is only detected in the microgreens and the concentration of sinigrin in microgreens (16.49 μmol/g) was ~30X greater than that of the mature kale (0.54 μmol/g). Hence, kale microgreen and mature kale appeared to differ in polyphenol and glucosinolate profile and concentration. An animal study, using diet-induced obesity rodent model, is in progress to elucidate and to compare the biological effects of kale microgreen and mature kale in vivo.

Comparison study between kale microgreen and mature kale: Bioactive components and biological efficacy

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.