Xiang Nan, Guo Xinbo, Liu Fengyuan, Li Quan, Hu Jianguang, Brennan Charles Stephen
School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China.
Crop Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Jun 10;18(6):1246. doi: 10.3390/ijms18061246.
Sweet corn is one of the most widely planted crops in China. Sprouting of grains is a new processes to increase the nutritional value of grain products. The present study explores the effects of light on the nutritional quality of sweet corn sprouts. Gene expression of phenolic biosynthesis, phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activity were studied. Two treatments (light and dark) were selected and the morphological structure of sweet corn sprouts, as well as their biochemical composition were investigated to determine the effects of light on the regulation of genes responsible for nutritional compounds. Transcription analyses for three key-encoding genes in the biosynthesis of the precursors of phenolic were studied. Results revealed a negative regulation in the expression of with total phenolic content (TPC) in the light group. TPC and total flavonoid content (TFC) increased during germination and this was correlated with an increase in antioxidant activity ( = 0.95 and 1.0). The findings illustrate that the nutritional value of sweet corn for the consumer can be improved through germination to the euphylla stage.
甜玉米是中国种植最广泛的作物之一。谷物发芽是提高谷物产品营养价值的新方法。本研究探讨光照对甜玉米芽苗营养品质的影响。研究了酚类生物合成的基因表达、植物化学特征和抗氧化活性。选择了两种处理方式（光照和黑暗），并研究了甜玉米芽苗的形态结构及其生化组成，以确定光照对负责营养化合物的基因调控的影响。研究了酚类前体生物合成中三个关键编码基因的转录分析。结果显示，光照组中总酚含量（TPC）的表达存在负调控。发芽过程中TPC和总黄酮含量（TFC）增加，这与抗氧化活性增加相关（相关系数分别为0.95和1.0）。研究结果表明，通过发芽至真叶阶段，可以提高甜玉米对消费者的营养价值。
