Aly Amina, Eliwa Noha, Abd El-Megid Mohamed, Maraei Rabab
Natural Products Research Department, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt.
Int J Radiat Biol. 2025;101(7):730-741. doi: 10.1080/09553002.2025.2494613. Epub 2025 May 13.
Microgreens have gained wide acceptance among consumers due to their low calorie content and rich composition of micronutrients and antioxidants, making them one of the best microgreen options. Therefore, this research is intended to investigate the effect of γ-rays on its growth and functional components and to confirm the possibility of using barley microgreens as a complementary and efficient food source.
Barley grains were exposed to various doses (10, 20, 30, and 40 Gy) of gamma rays, as well as the un-irradiated sample is considered as the control. The stimulating effects on growth and biochemical components of barley microgreens were evaluated.
The results revealed that plant height increased significantly in response to gamma radiation exposure, and the maximum increase (23.87 cm) was obtained at a dose of 30 Gy. Otherwise, Ch a, Ch b, and carotenoid significantly increased (1.33, 0.941, and 0.181 mg/g FW), respectively at 30 Gy compared to the control (0.937, 0.448, and 0.132 mg/g FW), respectively. Also, the soluble sugars, proteins, and total free amino acids content were enhanced by increasing the dose level, and the maximum increase was noticed at 40 Gy of gamma rays. A remarkable increase was observed in the phenolic and flavonoid contents at 40 Gy (5.65 and 2.65 mg/g FW), respectively compared to control (4.57 and 2.16 mg/g FW). In the amino acids profile, glutamic acid was predominant, and the amino acids group was improved markedly by gamma rays compared with the control, and the dose of 40 Gy gave the greatest contents (141.60 µg/g DW), followed by 30 Gy (139.58 µg/g DW) in the control (121.34 µg/g DW). Current findings indicated that γ-rays have negative effects on γ-tocopherol, cholesterol, and stigmasterol, and the maximum decrease was observed with 40 Gy (21.774, 199.335, and 722.778 mg/kg DW), respectively. In contrast, it had positive effects on the values of ergosterol, α-tocopherol, and β-sitosterol (3580.674, 5255.511, and 5281.320 mg/kg DW), respectively.
The results showed that treatment of barley grain with low doses of gamma rays stimulated; growth, biochemical compound, and antioxidants production, increasing the nutritional value of barley microgreens, improving microgreens defense and supporting the use of these grains as a complementary and efficient food.
微型蔬菜因其低热量含量以及丰富的微量营养素和抗氧化剂成分而在消费者中获得了广泛认可，使其成为最佳的微型蔬菜选择之一。因此，本研究旨在探究γ射线对其生长和功能成分的影响，并确认将大麦微型蔬菜用作补充性高效食物来源的可能性。
将大麦籽粒暴露于不同剂量（10、20、30和40戈瑞）的γ射线下，未辐照的样品作为对照。评估γ射线对大麦微型蔬菜生长和生化成分的刺激作用。
结果显示，γ射线照射后株高显著增加，在30戈瑞剂量下达到最大增幅（23.87厘米）。此外，与对照（分别为0.937、0.448和0.132毫克/克鲜重）相比，30戈瑞剂量下叶绿素a、叶绿素b和类胡萝卜素分别显著增加（1.33、0.941和0.181毫克/克鲜重）。而且，随着剂量水平的增加，可溶性糖、蛋白质和总游离氨基酸含量增加，在40戈瑞γ射线剂量下增幅最大。与对照（分别为4.57和2.16毫克/克鲜重）相比，40戈瑞剂量下酚类和黄酮类含量分别显著增加（5.65和2.65毫克/克鲜重）。在氨基酸谱中，谷氨酸占主导，与对照相比，γ射线显著改善了氨基酸组成，40戈瑞剂量下含量最高（141.60微克/克干重），其次是30戈瑞（139.58微克/克干重），对照为（121.34微克/克干重）。目前的研究结果表明，γ射线对γ-生育酚、胆固醇和豆甾醇有负面影响，40戈瑞剂量下降幅最大（分别为21.774、199.335和722.778毫克/千克干重）。相反，它对麦角固醇、α-生育酚和β-谷甾醇的值有积极影响（分别为3580.674、5255.511和5281.320毫克/千克干重）。
结果表明，低剂量γ射线处理大麦籽粒能刺激其生长、生化化合物和抗氧化剂的产生，提高大麦微型蔬菜的营养价值，增强微型蔬菜的防御能力，并支持将这些籽粒用作补充性高效食物。
