Microgreens of Brassicaceae: Mineral composition and content of 30 varieties

• This is the first report on the mineral content of 30 Brassicaceae microgreens.
• Macro- and minor-elemental analyses were conducted by ICP OES.
• Potassium was the most abundant macroelement, followed by P, Ca, Mg, and Na.
• Among the trace elements, Fe was highest, followed by Zn, Mn, and Cu.
• Brassicaceae microgreens assayed are good sources of essential elements.

The mineral element composition was analyzed for 30 varieties of microgreens, representing 10 species within 6 genera of the Brassicaceae family. Brassicaceae microgreens were assayed for concentrations of macroelements, including calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), phosphorous (P), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and of microelements, including copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). Determinations of mineral elements in microgreen samples were performed using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP OES). Potassium was the most abundant macroelement ranging from 176 to 387 mg/100 g fresh weight (FW), followed by P (52–86 mg/100 g FW), Ca (28–66 mg/100 g FW), Mg (28–66 mg/100 g FW), and Na (19–68 mg/100 g FW). Among the microelements, Fe tended to be most abundant (0.47–0.84 mg/100 g FW), followed by Zn (0.22–0.51 mg/100 g FW), Mn (0.17–0.48 mg/100 g FW), and Cu (0.041–0.13 mg/100 g FW). Based upon the analysis of 30 varieties, the results demonstrate that microgreens are good sources of both macroelements (K and Ca) and microelements (Fe and Zn.). Consumption of microgreens could be a health-promoting strategy to meet dietary reference intake requirements for essential elements beneficial to human health.