Effects of UV-C light and Spirulina maxima seed conditioning on the germination and the physical and nutraceutical properties of lentils (Lens culinaris)

. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of UV-C light on lentil ( Lens culinaris ) and its conditioning by Spirulina . The main findings were: (i) Lentil brightness presented a significant slight variation (9%) when compared to the control (T 0 ) and UV-C (T 10 =10 min) irradiated lentil samples. (ii) The total flavonoids tended to increase by 17% at 10 min (49.18 μg mL -1 ) compared to T 0 (42.07 μg mL -1 ). (iii) The conditioning of lentils with UV-C (0, 5, and 10 min) and the imbibition in water with Spirulina (0, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.5%) generated significant statistical differences (p ≤ 0.05) in the seedlings. The priming cyanobacte - ria Spirulina improved the physiological quality against damage caused by UV-C radiation. (iv) Morphological changes occurred in the lentils due to radiation, damage in the testa (protective layer on the outside) area (row 1) due to the application of UV-C was found, which increases with higher exposure to radiation. Through the application of UV-C for 10 min the cell wall and protein body were damaged. However, no damage to the starch is visible. (v) FT-IR indicates that the UV-C radiation did not induce any change in the chemical structure of the starch but, decreases in intensity within the range of 3 000-3 600 cm -1 indicated differ - ences in their water content, while those between 1 600-1 700 cm -1 were attributed to the reorganization of the secondary structure of proteins.