Effect of Seed Production Season on Nutritional Values of Sunflower Sprouts

Abstract

Sprouts are popular healthy food because of higher nutritional values than their dried seeds and mature plants. The production seasons affect the quality of the seeds, and may affect the nutritional values of their sprouts. The objective of this study was to determine the content of vitamin C, chlorophyll, fiber, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidant efficiency of sunflower sprouts variety Black OP that the seeds were produced in winter during November 2017 - February 2018 and summer during March-June 2018 at the experimental field 1, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture at Kamphaeng Saen, Kasetsart University. The results showed that sunflower seeds produced in the winter had a 1,000-seed weight of 76.08 g that was higher than the seeds that produced in the summer (71.38 g). The average weight of sunflower sprouts from different growing seasons were not significantly different. The chlorophyll, fiber, P and Fe contents of sunflower sprouts from the winter and summer seeds were not significantly different but sunflower sprouts from the winter seeds had higher vitamin C, N, K, Ca, Mg and S than sprouts from the summer seeds. Phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activities by DPPH and ABTS methods of sunflower sprouts from the winter seeds were higher than sprouts from the summer seed. Therefore, sunflower sprouts from winter seeds had higher nutritional values than sprouts from the summer seeds