The Changes in Proximate Composition, Antioxidant Activity and Fatty Acid Profile of Germinating Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Seed

In this work, the effect of three-day germination on proximate composition, total phenolic compounds, fatty acid profile, vitamin C content, radical scavenging activity, malondialdehyde content and reducing power of safflower seed was investigated. Apart from ash, other parameters including oil, protein and crude fiber contents decreased significantly during germination. Phenolics content increased gradually from 4.72 to 9.51 mg g^-1. Vitamin C sharply increased at the beginning of germination (4.22 to 7.04 mg 100 g-1 after 1-day germination) and after that no significant difference was observed. Germination improved the quality of safflower oil by increasing the unsaturated and decreasing the saturated fatty acids (about 5%). Results indicated that germination could be a suitable bioprocess to improve chemical composition and nutritional value of safflower seed.