Pigments, ascorbic acid, total polyphenols and antioxidant capacities in deetiolated barley (Hordeum vulgare) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) microgreens.

The study was aimed to evaluate if deetiolation of barley and wheat microgreens after cultivaton in dark (for 5, 7 and 9 days) can enhance the contents of pigments, ascorbic acid, polyphenols, and equivalent antioxidant capacities (EAC) (measured by DPPH and FRAP assay) in correlation to other. Chlorophylls and carotenoids were higher in microgreens that were exposed more to daylight. In contrast, ascorbic acid, polyphenols and EAC of microgreens could be enhanced by 5-7 days of etiolation. However, prolonged etiolation reduced overall antioxidant capacities of microgreens. All evaluated parameters could be satisfactorily represented by regression expressions for the given number of days of etiolation and growth. The ascorbic acid and total carotenoids content had higher correlations with total chlorophyll contents, while the antioxidant capacities were highly correlated to total polyphenols content. The study confirms the potential of deetiolated cultivation of microgreens to enhance selective phytochemicals content and EAC of microgreens.