Rice Germination and Its Impact on Technological and Nutritional Properties: A Review

Grain germination is a process involving numerous factors that influence the biochemical processes inside the plant cells. This review covered the abiotic factors that lead to the germination and significantly impact the nutritional properties and digestion behavior of rice grains. The macro- and micro-nutrients can be changed depending on the intensity of the applied variables during germination. For instance, germination time can increase the protein content in the grain and concurrently reduce its protein digestibility. In most cases, the number of bioactive compounds present in rice grains are increased regardless of germination conditions. Germination can promote the complexation of nutrients and thus negatively interfere with the digestibility of macronutrients. This review highlighted the influence of the germination process on the nutritional quality of rice grains, providing information about the germination conditions and their impacts on the anabolic and catabolic reactions of the grain, emphasizing the health benefits.     

Simultaneous determination of multiple phytohormones in plant extracts by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry

A rapid multiresidue method to quantify three different classes of plant hormones has been developed. The reduced concentrations of these metabolites in real samples with complex matrixes require sensitive techniques for their quantification in small amounts of plant tissue. The method described combines high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Deuterium-labeled standards were added prior to sample extraction to achieve an accurate quantification of abscisic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, and jasmonic acid in a single run. A simple method of extraction and purification involving only centrifugation, a partition against diethyl ether, and filtration was developed and the analytical method validated in four different plant tissues, citrus leaves, papaya roots, barley seedlings, and barley immature embryos. This method represents a clear advantage because it extensively reduces sample preparation and total time for routine analysis of phytohormones in real plant samples.