Deficiency of folates can cause various health problems, and germination is a potential way to enrich folates in grain-based food materials. In the present study, the effects of six amino acids (phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, glutamate, γ-aminobutyric acid, and p-aminobenzoic acid) on folate accumulation during wheat germination under red light radiation were investigated, and an optimized combination of amino acids for promoting folate enrichment was established. The results showed that applying phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, glutamate, or p-aminobenzoic acid to wheat seedlings during germination can significantly increase the content of total folates through activating the synthesis of the precursors for folate synthesis (pterin and p-aminobenzoic acid) or condensation of these two moieties. Meanwhile, up-regulation of corresponding genes was observed by measuring their expressions to investigate the mechanism for promoting the accumulation of folates. The highest content of folates (ca. 417 µg/100 g DW) was observed when the germinated wheat was cultured with a mixture of 1.5 mM phenylalanine, 0.5 mM tyrosine, 0.5 mM tryptophan, 0.75 mM p-aminobenzoic acid, and 0.5 mM glutamic acid, which was 50% higher than the control seedlings. This study established a promising and practical approach to enhance the accumulation of folates in wheat seedlings.
Keywords: amino acids; enrichment; folate; wheat seedlings.