With a variety of sweet and spicy flavours, colours and textures, microgreens are sprouting up everywhere, from fine dining restaurants to Home kitchens.
Used as decoration or to enhance the flavour of a dish or as an ingredient, microgreens are miniature versions of the many leafy greens and herbs. They add a distinctive taste and enhance the flavours of a dish with their freshness and delicate textures. Just taking a week or two to grow, microgreens are fully developed plants grown from germinated seeds and harvested before they turn into baby greens.
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Packed with nutrients, microgreens have been touted to have the same health benefits as sprouts and baby greens.
But scientists say that microgreens offer more health benefits than their mature counterparts.
Previous studies have shown that fully grown red cabbage can help protect against excessive cholesterol. But little is known about the health benefits of microgreens on lipid and cholesterol levels.
To test this, researchers used mice that had the tendency for obesity, high cholesterol and other risks associated with cardiovascular disease. 60 mice were divided into six diet-based groups:
1) low-fat diet
2) high-fat diet
3) low-fat diet + red cabbage microgreens
4) low-fat diet + mature red cabbage
5) high-fat diet + red cabbage microgreens
6) high-fat diet + mature red cabbage.
The animals were on their respective diets for 8 weeks.
The researchers found that mice with a high fat diet, consuming mature red cabbage and microgreen red cabbage, showed reduced weight gain and lower levels of liver cholesterol. But the study also showed that microgreen supplementation significantly lowered the LDL or bad cholesterol levels and liver triglycerides in animals fed the high fat diet.
The researchers were able to conclude that microgreens contained more cholesterol lowering polyphenols and glucosinolates than mature cabbage and can control weight gain and cholesterol metabolism, thus having the potential to protect against cardio-vascular diseases.
Quick to grow and requiring very little space, microgreens are packed with nutrients – potentially more than their mature counterparts, making them an essential ingredient for all your healthy meals.
Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
