Effect of soaking and germination treatments on nutritional, anti-nutritional, and bioactive properties of amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus L.), quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa L.), and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum L.)

Pseudocereals have attracted the attention of nutritionists and food technologists due to their high nutritional value. In addition to their richness in nutritional and bioactive components, these are deficient in gluten and can serve as valuable food for persons suffering from gluten allergies. Processing treatments are considered an effective way to enhance the quality of food grains. Soaking and germination are traditional and most effective treatments for enhancing the nutritional and bioactive potential as well as reducing the anti-nutritional components in food grains. This study reflects the effect of soaking and germination treatments on nutritional, bioactive, and anti-nutritional characteristics of pseudocereals. There was a significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in nutritional and bioactive components such as crude fiber, crude protein, phenolic components, antioxidant activity, and mineral content but reduced the anti-nutrients such as tannin and phytic acid. In amaranth, there was a significant increase (p ≤ 0.05) of 7.01, 74.67, 126.62, and 87.47% in crude protein, crude fiber, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity but significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction of 32.30% and 29.57% in tannin and phytic acid contents, respectively. Similar changes in values of crude proteins, crude fiber, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity were observed in buckwheat and quinoa. While the anti-nutritional components such as tannin and phytic acid decreased by 59.91 and 17.42%, in buckwheat and 27.08% and 47.57%, in quinoa, respectively. Therefore, soaking and germination proved to be excellent techniques to minimize the anti-nutritional component and enhance the nutritional, bioactive, and antioxidant potential of these underutilized grains.