Abstract
Great attention has been given to plants in the context of their growth, nutritional value and biological activity. The present work is designed to use the bioactive Punica granatum L. Peel (PoPe) extracts as an eco-friendly approach to improve Brassica oleraceae (B. oleraceae) growth and nutritive values. The phytochemical profile, in vitro antibacterial potential and in vitro antioxidant DPPH free radical activity of aqueous (Aq) and ethanol (EtOH) extracts of PoPe were investigated to select the potent PoPe extract. A strong antibacterial activity of both extracts and EtOH extract of PoPe had the highest DPPH activity. According to GC/MS analysis, high content of phenolic components in EtOH extract of PoPe with the highest concentration of Eugenol (58.95%). Thus, seeds of three B. oleraceae varieties i.e., acephala (BA1), acephala (BA2) and italic (BA3) were primed with EtOH extract of PoPe to test their impacts on growth, glucosinolate metabolism, and biological activities. EtOH extract of PoPe induced glucosinolate accumulation in all the three varieties BA1, BA2, and BA2, possibly through amino acids production. Interestingly, a reduced level of effective sulforaphane nitrile was measured and positively correlated with decreased epithiospecifier protein. Consequently, there was an increase in the antioxidant DPPH of BA1 and BA2 (84% and 183%, respectively) and increase in FRAP of BA1 (117%). Further, the antibacterial activities of PoPe treated varieties were increased, however, a decrease was observed in PoPe treated BA1 and BA2 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and BA2 against Klebsiella pneumonia. In conclusion, PoPe extract is a rich source of metabolites that could enrich B. oleraceae sprouts with health-promoting metabolites and bioactivities.