Effects of UV-C light and Spirulina maxima seed conditioning on the germination and the physical and nutraceutical properties of lentils (Lens culinaris)

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of UV-C light on lentil (Lens culinaris) and its conditioning by Spirulina. The main findings were: (i) Lentil brightness presented a significant slight variation (9%) when compared to the control (T₀) and UV-C (T₁₀=10 min) irradiated lentil samples. (ii) The total flavonoids tended to increase by 17% at 10 min (49.18 μg mL^-1) compared to T₀ (42.07 μg mL^-1). (iii) The conditioning of lentils with UV-C (0, 5, and 10 min) and the imbibition in water with Spirulina (0, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.5%) generated significant statistical differences (p ≤ 0.05) in the seedlings. The priming cyanobacteria Spirulina improved the physiological quality against damage caused by UV-C radiation. (iv) Morphological changes occurred in the lentils due to radiation, damage in the testa (protective layer on the outside) area (row 1) due to the application of UV-C was found, which increases with higher exposure to radiation. Through the application of UV-C for 10 min the cell wall and protein body were damaged. However, no damage to the starch is visible. (v) FT-IR indicates that the UV-C radiation did not induce any change in the chemical structure of the starch but, decreases in intensity within the range of 3 000-3 600 cm^-1 indicated differences in their water content, while those between 1 600-1 700 cm^-1 were attributed to the reorganization of the secondary structure of proteins.