Asanti-nutritional factors (ANFs) can inhibit the absorption of some nutrients,some methods can be done to reduce these compounds content in the plant food.As mentioned by Enneking and Wink (2000), the reduction of anti-nutritionalfactors (ANFs) can be done by either by using certain processes or throughgenetic manipulation.A study done byAdeleke, Adiamo, Fawale and Olamiti (2017) reported that soaking can reduce theamount of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) in plants. This shown by the resultsfrom this study.
As the soaking time of Bambara groundnuts white increase, thesaponin content in the groundnuts decrease. Saponin is one of theanti-nutritional factors (ANFs) found in Bambara groundnut white. The otheranti-nutritional factors (ANFs) in these Bambara groundnuts are also studied.Tannins which reported to be highest in raw groundnuts decrease the contentafter 12 hour soaking. This study also managed to report that the significantreduction in tannin level in soaked samples maybe due to removal of seed coatand leaching of tannin (a water soluble phenolic compounds) from the cells intowater, which is suggesting that leaching also can be done to reduce theanti-nutritional factors (ANFs) content in plants. The reduction of tannin,polyphenols and phytic acid contents in Bambara groundnuts through soaking isalso supported by a study done in 2013 which reported that cooking aftersoaking is a useful method in order to improve bioavailability of nutrients (Mazahib, Nuha, Salawa and Babiker, 2013).
Another study doneby Afify, El-Beltagi, El-Salam, Omran (2011), phytatewhich is one of the anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) was reported to significantly reduce when sorghum undergone the soakingtreatment.According to Montagnac,Davis and Tanumihardjo (2008), another process is called as fermentationwhich is commonly used to reduce cyanide content, one of anti-nutritionalfactors (ANFs) which is found in cassava. This process is conducted with gratedor soaked cassava roots and results in a decrease in pH value. The fermentationof grated cassava roots is efficient at removing cyanogen glucosides.
The other process which can help in eliminating theanti-nutritional factors (ANFs) is mentioned by Anarson (2017) in Healthline. He suggests to do germinating which isconducted during the plant sprouting period whereby it start emergingfrom the seed. Few steps taken which begins with rinsing the seeds in order to remove all debris, dirt andsoil. The seeds arethen soaked for two to twelve hours in cool water. The soaking timedepends on the type of seed.
The seedsare rinsed thoroughly in water. Then, as much water as possible isdrained and the seeds are placed in a sprouting vessel, also called a sprouter.Make sure to place it out of direct sunlight.
The rinsing and drainingprocesses are repeated about two to four times. This should be done regularly,or once every eight to twelve hours. During sprouting, changes take placewithin the seed that lead to the degradation of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs)such as phytate and protease inhibitors.
Anarson also mentioned that sproutinghas been shown to reduce phytate by 37-81% in various types of grains andlegumes. A slight decrease in lectins and protease inhibitors during sproutingis also reported in the article.Inaddition, boiling also reported to reduce the anti-nutritional factors(ANFs) in plants. The use of high heat for example in boiling process inwhich requires 100C, can degrade many anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) such aslectins, tannins and protease inhibitors. Furthermore, calciumoxalate is reduced by 19-87% in boiled green leafy vegetables.
However, phytate is heat-resistant and not as easily degraded withboiling so therefore it is recommended to use any other method of eliminatingphytates in plants. Apart from boiling, cooking can also reduce the theanti-nutritional factors (ANFs) in plants. Cooking time required depends on thetype of the anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) and the cooking method. Generally,a longer cooking time results in greater reductions of the anti-nutritionalfactors (ANFs) (Anarson, 2017). In genetic engineering, theidentification of alkaloids and non-protein amino acids as the majoranti-nutritional factors present in some plants, now allows for the selectionof genotypes with low level of these factors, thus enabling the development oflow more palatable and less toxicity crops. The selection of genetic materialwith contrasting levels of anti-nutritional factors is also ideal suited forthe elucidation of their biological functions. This method includes thedownregulation of the anti-nutritional gene by using strategies such as theexpression of antisense mRNA, the expression of gene targeting and theexpression of synthetic molecular oligonucleotides or ribosomes. For example,the near complete elimination of ?-cyanoalanineand ?-glutamyl-?-cyanoalanine from V.
sativa seed has been achieved by a hydrolytic process incorporated into acommercial splitting operation. Although genetic engineering might help a lotin eliminating the anti-nutritional factors in plants, the cost is unfavorableespecially under nowadays economic condition which is fluctuated from time totime (Enneking andWink, 2000). Fortunately, the other processes such as cooking and fermentationcan also help in eliminating the anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) in plants.
