Effect of Soaking and Germination on Nutritional Profile and Antinutrients of Buckwheat Whole (Fagopyrum esculentum)

Abstract

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a broad-leafed herbaceous annual. It belongs to the family Polygonaceae, which is generally referred to as the buckwheat. Hindi name for buckwheat is “Kutu”. Its consumption may be less as it is hard to digest containing anti nutritional factors. Looking to its nutritional and therapeutic significance soaking and germination methods applied to observe the effects on nutritional and antinutritional profile of buckwheat whole (Fagopyrum esculentum).The study was conducted at Department of Food & Nutrition, College of Home science, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. Buckwheat whole (BW) processed as soaking and germination for 6, 12, 18 hr and 24, 36, 48 hr respectively and subjected for chemical analysis (proximate, minerals, anti-nutrients) to find out the effect of processing on anti-nutrients with nutritional profile. Protein content was found highest in germination for 24 hr followed by unprocessed buckwheat whole. Calcium, zinc and copper content of buckwheat whole were found higher after germination as compared to unprocessed buckwheat whole. Tannin content was lower on soaking for 18 hr and 12hr in comparison to unprocessed buckwheat whole. A continuous degradation was observed in phytic acid with soaking and germination.