Introduction and nutritional evaluation of buckwheat sprouts as a new vegetable

By using the mass production system, we could harvest the buckwheat sprouts that had their pericarps completely removed. As seeding days progressed, monosaccharides in buckwheat sprouts were rapidly increased, while di-, tri-, and tetrasaccharides were gradually decreased. Linoleic acid (C18:2) was found to be the major fatty acid of buckwheat sprouts and increased up to 52.1% at 7 days after seeding (DAS), and total unsaturated fatty acid composition was greater than 83%. Free amino acid contents in buckwheat sprouts were almost four-times higher than those of buckwheat seeds. Based on these results, it was concluded that the abundance of lysine, gamma-amino-n-butyric acid (GABA) and sulfur containing amino acids in buckwheat sprouts provides a high nutritional value as a new vegetable. Rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside), quericitrin (quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside), chlorogenic acid, and two unknown compounds were presented in both buckwheat seeds and sprouts. As seeding days progressed, rutin, quercitrin, and unknown compound B (431 m/z) were notably increased, while chlorogenic acid and unknown compound A (451 m/z) were moderately increased. Among the water-soluble vitamins, vitamin B-1 + B-6, vitamin C, and two kinds of unidentified compounds were presented in the buckwheat sprouts. Vitamin C contents of buckwheat sprouts were increased and its maximum content (171.5 mg/100 g) was observed at 7 DAS. On the other hand, vitamin B-1 + B-6 contents were moderately increased. Buckwheat sprouts not only have the soft and slightly crispy texture, and attractive fragrance, but also have abundant nutrients. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.