Cold atmospheric plasma treatment improves the ?-aminobutyric acid content of buckwheat seeds providing a new anti-hypertensive functional ingredient

Buckwheat (BW) is rich in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which has great potential as a functional antihypertensive food ingredient. This study utilized cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) to promote GABA accumulation in BW during germination. The effect of this approach on GABA enrichment and anti-hypertensive activity of BW along with its processing properties were investigated. The results indicated that CAP stress treatment (50 W for 40 s) of BW seeds followed by germination at 30 degrees C for 60 h resulted in a GABA content of 2.22 +/- 0.06 mg/g, which was a 2.64-fold greater than that of pristine BW. Cracking of the seed coat, faster germination, and the activation of glutamate decarboxylase might be responsible for the GABA enrichment. Compared with pristine BW, the GABA-enriched BW powder showed a greater inhibitory effect on the angiotensin-converting enzyme, an increased degree of pre-gelatinization and elasticity when it was formed into a dough.

Automated summary

This study utilized cold atmospheric plasma to promote gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) accumulation in buckwheat during germination. The results showed that the GABA content significantly increased after the treatment, and the GABA-enriched buckwheat powder exhibited enhanced inhibitory effect on angiotensin-converting enzyme and improved processing properties when formed into dough.