Utilization of germinated garden cress (lpidium sativum L.) seeds as untraditional functional food

Garden cress (Lpidium sativum L.) is an underutilized crop with high nutritional potential. Its application in food products remains limited due to antinutritional factors and sensory challenges. Therefore, this study  aimed to  explore  garden cress seeds' nutritional and bioactive enhancements after germination proces  and  utilize as main sources of high nutritional and bioactive compounds to improve and produce some untraditional and nutraceutical sweet potato puree with good nutrient balance and more palatable for consumers. The results demonstrated that the germination proces significantly enhances the nutritional and functional properties of garden cress seeds by increasing protein, phenol contents, and antioxidant activity, as well as reducing antinutritional components  as phytic acid. Increasing the germination period increased the percent ratio of minerals, especially calcium and potassium that recorded the most significant increases from 590.58 to 660.85 and 82.34 to 112.33 mg/100g, respectively. Pyrogallol was the most common phenolic compound found in germinated seeds (227.58 mg/100 g), which dramatically increased after the germination period by more than 72-folds. Moreover, the germination process had a positive effect on raising the flavonoids, isoflavone compound contents, B-complex and fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin K, the predominant fat-soluble vitamin found in raw garden cress seeds, which increased fourfold after the germination process, being 78.89 mg/100g. Optimum incorporation of germinated garden cress seeds powder (10–20%) into sweet potato puree  blends with orange juice improved the sensory palatability and recorded the highest scores comparing with the control blend. These findings demonstrate that germinated garden cress seeds are a potent functional ingredient for nutritional enhancement and health promotion of food products, supporting their application in developing value-added foods with favorable consumer acceptance.