Effect of chitosan pre‐soaking on the growth and quality of yellow soybean sprouts.

BACKGROUND: Soybeans are popularly known as a healthy food in many Asian countries and are mostly consumed as sprouts. The present study aimed to investigate the potential applications of chitosan as a natural growth regulator of soybean sprouts, as well as to determine the variation and composition of nutrients and anti‐nutrients of soybean sprouts pre‐soaked in different concentrations of chitosan solutions. RESULTS: The hypocotyl length and fresh weight of the soybean sprouts could be positively affected by chitosan treatment. The content changes of bioactive products in chitosan‐soaked soybean sprouts were dependent on the concentration of chitosan and germination time. Additionally, the lowest phytic acid content was observed in 8 g kg−1 chitosan‐treated soybean sprouts, and the phytic acid content values after 5 days of germination was 1.56 g kg−1, which was decreased by 79.0% compared to the value in ungerminated soybean. CONCLUSION: Chitosan pre‐soaking can increase the hypocotyl length and fresh weight of soybean sprouts and also positively effect the content of bioactive products in sprouts, whereas phytic acid can be partially removed, thereby leading to the enhancement of product quality. Chitosan pre‐soaking is an alternative technology for the production of low‐cost functional foods, where the dose of chitosan is a key factor. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]