|| Bioinfo Publications || 1160 International Journal of Microbiology Research ISSN: 0975-5276 & E-ISSN: 0975-9174, Volume 10, Issue 4, 2018 Research Article EFFECT OF NATURAL ELICITORS ON PHYSICAL AND SENSORY QUALITIES OF FENUGREEK (Trigonella foenum-graecum L) SPROUTS ANWAR HUSSAIN AND IMTIYAZ MURTAZA Division of Post Harvest Technology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology of Kashmir, 180001, India *Corresponding Author: Email- yokcan63101@gmail.com Received: April 20, 2018; Revised: April 24, 2018; Accepted: April 26, 2018; Published: April 30, 2018 Citation: Anwar Hussain and Imtiyaz Murtaza (2018) Effect of Natural Elicitors on Physical and Sensory Qualities of Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L) Sprouts. International Journal of Microbiology Research, ISSN: 0975-5276 & E-ISSN: 0975-9174, Volume 10, Issue 4, pp.-1160-1163. Copyright: Copyright©2018 Anwar Hussain and Imtiyaz Murtaza. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Academic Editor / Reviewer: Introduction Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is a leguminous herb cultivated in India and North African countries. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. India is the major producer of fenugreek and its main consumer for culinary and medicinal uses. The seeds are used as spices worldwide, whereas the leaves are used as green leafy vegetables in the diet. Fenugreek seeds are bitter to taste and are known for a long time for their medicinal qualities. The seeds of fenugreek are used as a spice for seasoning, a flavoring agent and in comparatively larger quantities in making soups and pan cakes. In the indigenous system of medicine in India, it is effective against anorexia and is a gastric stimulant [1, 2]. Sprouts are one of the most complete and nutritionally beneficial of all foods. Their nutritional value was discovered by the Chinese thousands of years ago. Recently, in USA, numerous scientific studies suggest the importance of sprouts in a healthy diet. Such type of functional food components has been associated with the prevention and/or treatment of at least four of the leading causes of death in USA, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension and with the prevention and/or treatment of other medical ailments such as osteoporosis, neural tube defects, arthritis abnormal and bowel function. Although the use of sprouts as a food source for man is old as man’s use of seeds, it is only in recent times that science has begun to unravel the chemistry of sprouting seed and its potential significance in both human and animal nutrition. The objective of the current research was to examine the effect of exogenously applied natural elicitors which would be food grade in quality on physical properties and quality of fenugreek sprouts. The elicitors used were vitamin C, folic acid and chitosan. Both vitamin C and folic acid are water soluble vitamins and chitosan is a natural polymer, appear to be promising candidates regarding the physical changes in fenugreek sprouts. Materials and Methods The experimental work was carried out in the Biochemistry laboratory of the Division of Post Harvest Technology, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, J & K, India during the year 2016-17. Seed treatment and sprouting Seeds of the fenugreek cultivars i.e., ‘ Methi Local’ and ‘ Methi Shalimar Improved’ were obtained from the Division of Vegetable Science, SKUAST-K. The elicitors used in the study were folic acid (Titan Biotech Ltd.), vitamin C (S.d. fine-chem Ltd.) and chitosan (HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd.) as pretreatments. Dry seeds of the selected cultivars were soaked in conical flasks containing different pre- treatments viz., distilled water (control), vitamin C (100 μM), vitamin C (500 μM), folic acid (50 μM), folic acid (100 μM), chitosan (1000 ppm) and chitosan (1500 ppm). The flasks were then placed on a shaker at a speed of 120 rpm at room temperature for 18 hours. The pre-soaked seeds were washed in distilled water and germinated in glass jars. The germinating seeds were kept moist with distilled water and sprouts were raised for 10 days. Sprouts were collected on 0, 2 nd , 5 th , 8 th and 10 th day of sprouting for analysis. Physical changes Sprout length was recorded on representative sample of a sprout in triplicate using a measuring scale. A representative sample of a sprout in triplicate was weighed on an electronic balance and average sprout weight was calculated. For measuring physiological change (loss or gain) in weight from each treatment, 3 sprouts in 3 replications (1 sprout/replication) were taken. Per cent change in weight was calculated by subtracting the final weight of sprouts from initial weight of sprouts as per equation given below International Journal of Microbiology Research ISSN: 0975-5276 & E-ISSN: 0975-9174, Volume 10, Issue 4, 2018, pp.-1160-1163. Available online at https://www.bioinfopublication.org/jouarchive.php?opt=&jouid=BPJ0000234 Abstract- Sprouts of fenugreek cultivars viz., ‘Methi Local’ and ‘ Methi Shalimar Improved’ were grown pretreated with natural elicitors such as vitamin C (100 μM and (500 μM)), folic acid ((50 μM) and 100 μM) and chitosan (1000 ppm and 1500 ppm). Physical parameters and sensory properties of these sprouts were studied at different stages (0, 2 nd , 5 th , 8 th and 10 th days) of sprouting. The results showed significant variations between the selected cultivars regarding the studied parameters. The pre-treatments increased both the parameters of the sprouts during the sprouting process and among these, chitosan (1500 ppm) was almost the favourable candidate in doing so. In most of the cases, the peak stage where the parameters were maximum was the 8 th day of the sprouting. This study concluded that the physical and organoleptic properties of the fenugreek sprouts were enhanced during the process of sprouting and these parameters were further increased by the pre- treatment of selected natural food grade additives. Keywords- Fenugreek sprouts, Seed treatment, Sprouting, Statistical analysis