Melatonin seed priming reconfigures the metabolomic profile and functional attributes of brown mustard (Brassica juncea L.) sprouts

Abstract

Abstract While mustard seeds offer a prime store of biologically active compounds, there is insufficient data regarding the impact of melatonin (MT) priming on remodelling the chemical patterns, metabolic pathways, and biological attributes of mustard sprouts. Accordingly, the current work is directed to investigate the metabolic shifts in mustard sprouts post MT-priming treatments using UPLC–MS/MS and chemometric analyses. Given this, MT-primed sprouted samples witnessed a significant elevation of phenolic acids, specifically hydroxybenzoic, ferulic, syringic, and chlorogenic acids, with approximately 2.5- to 6-fold increments compared to unprimed controls. In MT-primed mustard sprouts, some aliphatic glucosinolates, such as gluconapin, glucotropaeolin, and sinigrin, revealed a notable elevation with fold increments of 3.5, 2.9, and 2.6, respectively, compared to unprimed counterparts. Further, some flavonoids and stilbenes, primarily isorhamnetin, syringetin-O-glucoside, quercetin, and isorhapontigenin, exhibited a notable enrichment pattern in primed mustard sprouts relative to the others. KEGG pathway analysis revealed phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, flavonoid biosynthesis, glucosinolate biosynthesis, and stilbenoid, diarylheptanoid and gingerol biosynthesis pathways as the key metabolic pathways primarily govern these metabolic fluctuations. Regarding AChE and MAO-B inhibitory screening, MT-primed sprouted samples recorded the most leading observations with IC 50 = 7.667 ± 0.306 mg/dl and 45.389 ± 0.953 mg/dl, respectively. OPLS-driven correlation analysis pinpointed syringic, ellagic, and chlorogenic acid, along with quercetin, pterostilbene, sinigrin, gluconapin, and eicosapentaenoic acid, majorly detected in MT-primed samples, as biologically active compounds beyond their AChE and MAO-B inhibitory activities. These findings support melatonin priming as a sustainable, effective technique for creating high-quality, nutritious, and health-promoting agricultural products to rectify chronic diseases.