engleski

Mineral elements in wheatgrass juice

Aside from its usage as a staple food, wheat could be used as a dietary supplement as well. Wheatgrass consists of young shoots of wheat that are rich in chlorophyll, bioflavonoids, essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Due to its chemical composition, wheatgrass has numerous positive effects on human health, such as the detoxification of the organism, the strengthening of the immune system, the improvement of blood test results, and others. In this study, forty winter wheat genotypes (23 Croatian, 8 Hungarian, and 9 Serbian) were investigated for total Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, and Zn concentrations in fresh wheatgrass juice (WGJ) and their in vitro bioaccessibility. In vitro digestion was conducted according to Kiers et al. (2001). Total and bioaccessible concentrations of minerals were determined by the ICP-OES technique. The mean values of total mineral concentrations in WGJ varied from 249 to 533 mg L -1 Ca, 156 to 272 mg L -1 Mg, 2.26 to 5.16 mg L -1 Fe, 2.78 to 4.45 mg L -1 Mn, and 1.54 to 2.98 mg L -1 Zn. The percentages of bioaccessibility calculated on the basis of total and in vitro bioaccessible concentrations were as follows: 86% Mg, 84% Mn, 77% Ca, 40% Fe, and 32% Zn. The investigated wheat genotypes differ in total Ca (p<0.01), Mg (p<0.01), Mn (p<0.01), Fe (p<0.01), and Zn (p<0.01) concentrations in WGJ, while significant differences in the % of bioaccessibility between genotypes were found only for Fe (p<0.01) and Zn (p<0.01). The obtained results indicate that the introduction of fresh WGJ into our nutrition could significantly increase the daily intake of essential minerals, especially Ca and Mg.

mineral malnutrition ; functional food ; nutraceuticals ; wheatgrass ; biofortification

nije evidentirano