Nicholas J. Vaughan

Limited data exists on the combined nutritional and phytochemical profiles of UK commercially available plant-based foods, limiting comprehensive compositional data available for dietary assessment and food formulation. This study addresses this gap by providing thorough compositional analysis of quinoa (red, black, organic), chia seeds (organic, white), pumpkin seeds (conventional, organic), flaxseeds (brown, golden, organic), and triticale grain (organic, cereal meal, rolled), profiling macronutrients, dietary fiber, amino acids, fatty acids, essential minerals, and bioactive phytochemicals. Pumpkin seeds exhibited the highest protein (29–36%) and fat (42–46%) contents, markedly exceeding quinoa and triticale, highlighting their role as a plant-based protein and energy source. Flaxseeds and chia seeds provided the greatest dietary fiber (15 g/100 g), while mineral analysis identified pumpkin seeds as particularly rich in phosphorus and magnesium, and white chia seeds as a rich source of calcium and iron. Targeted LC-MS/MS and HPLC screening (171 molecules) revealed substantial variation in phytochemical composition among products with red quinoa, golden flaxseed, and white chia seed containing the highest concentrations of quantified phytochemicals (up to 97.2 mg/100 g). These findings provide integrated data on the nutrient and phytochemical composition of selected commercially available products, reinforcing the practical importance of crop diversity for enhancing dietary nutrient and phytochemical diversity and informing future research, food innovation, and dietary assessment initiatives involving plant-based foods.

The adoption of food crops as a source of dietary macro- and micro-nutrients is a sustainable way to promote diet biodiversity and health while being respectful to the environment. The aim of this work was to comprehensively characterize the nutrient and phytochemical content of buckwheat seeds (Fagopyrum esculentum) and assess their physical properties for the evaluation of their suitability as food ingredients. The buckwheat samples were found to be complete sources of amino acids (UPLC-TUV analysis), with a protein content between 11.71 ± 0.40% and 14.13 ± 0.50% (Vario Max CN analysis), and a source of insoluble fiber with 11.05 ± 0.25 %, in the UK hulled samples (GC analysis). The buckwheat samples were rich in phosphorus, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, magnesium, and selenium (ICP-MS analysis). A total of 196 plant metabolites were detected using HPLC and LCMS analysis, with anthocyanidins (pelargonidin and cyanidin) being the most abundant phenolic molecules that were measured in all the buckwheat samples. Removing the hull was beneficial for increasing the powder bulk density, whereas the hulled buckwheat samples were more easily rehydrated. The implementation of buckwheat as a staple food crop has enormous potential for the food industry, human nutrition, and diet diversification and could contribute towards meeting the daily recommendation for dietary fiber, essential amino acids, and minerals in Western-style diet countries such as the UK.

Facing a climate emergency and an increasingly unhealthy population, functional foods should not only address health issues but must be prepared from sustainable ingredients while contributing to our sustainable development goals, such as tackling waste and promoting a healthy environment. High-protein crop flours, i.e., buckwheat, hemp and fava bean, are investigated as potential matrices to be fortified with key bioactive phytochemicals from soft fruits to explore potential waste valorization and to deliver sustainable functional food ingredients. Hemp flour provided the best matrix for anthocyanin fortification, adsorbing of 88.45 ± 0.88% anthocyanins and 69.77 mg/kg of additional phytochemicals. Buckwheat and fava bean absorbed 78.64 ± 3.15% and 50.46 ± 2.94% of anthocyanins 118.22 mg/kg and 103.88 mg/kg of additional phytochemicals, respectively. During the fortification, there was no detectable adsorption of the berry sugars to the flours, and the quantities of free sugars from the flours were also removed. One gram of fortified hemp flour provides the same amount of anthocyanins found in 20 g of fresh bilberries but has substantially less sugar. The optimum conditions for high protein flour fortification with anthocyanins was established and showed that it is a viable way to reduce and valorize potential agricultural waste, contributing to a circular and greener nutrition.

Wheat bran cereals are an important source of dietary fibre. The aim of the study was to investigate if a high intake (120 g) of fibre rich breakfast cereal (which delivers the UK Government guidelines for fibre intake in one serving but is three-fold higher than the manufacturers recommended serving) has additional potential health benefits compared to the recommended serving (40 g, containing 11 g of dietary fibre). To assess this, the study determined the short chain fatty acid (SCFA) profiles in human faecal, urine and plasma samples after consumption of two different servings of fibre-rich cereal. Inhibition of prostanoid production was measured (ex vivo) in human colonic fibroblast cells after cytokine (IL-1β) inflammation stimulation. Eight healthy volunteers, 18-55 years old; BMI (18-30 kg/m2) consumed the wheat bran-rich “ready to eat cereal”, at both the high (120 g) serving and recommended (40 g) serving. Faecal, urine and plasma samples were collected at baseline, throughout the five-hour intervention period and approximately 24 hours following consumption. Faecal butyrate showed the largest increase (p<0.05) of more than a two-fold change following the consumption of the recommended serving of wheat bran cereal (from 13.95 ± 9.17 to 31.63 ± 20.53 mM) and no significant change following the higher serving (from 21.96 ± 11.03 to 22.9 ± 12.69 mM). ANOVA analysis also found a weak serving effect (p = 0.046) of the portion size (high vs. recommended) only for butyrate in urine 24 hours after consumption of the bran cereal. The physiological nutritionally relevant concentrations of faecal SCFAs, as determined in the volunteers’ faecal samples showed significant anti-inflammatory activity or the individual faecal SCFAs; acetate (p<0.001), propionate (p<0.001) and butyrate (p<0.01), as well as in combination. Plasma folate was also increased after consumption of both wheat bran servings and was significant (p = 0.037) at the three-hour time point following consumption of the high wheat bran serving. The consumption of the recommended serving (40 g) of wheat bran cereal increased the total microbial SCFAs levels (from 96.88 to 136.96 mM) compared to the higher serving (120 g) (from 110.5 to 117.64 mM) suggesting that the intake of the higher portion size is likely to promote a faecal bulking effect and thereby decrease colonic SCFA levels. These data indicate that consumption of the recommended serving of wheat bran cereal serving would therefore be sufficient to promote microbial butyrate formation, reduce colonic inflammation and increase plasma folate levels in humans.