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Purpose: Buckwheat is a major traditional crop of hilly regions, capable of growing in adverse climatic conditions. During the survey, it was reported that prolonged consumption of buckwheat leads to digestive problems and numbness. The present study was conducted to study the effect of γ-irradiations on buckwheat to make them suitable for daily consumption. Materials and methods: Buckwheat seeds were irradiated by 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, and 800 Gy doses of γ-radiations, to access the phytoconstituent variability using standard methods. Results: Significant (p < 0.05) increase in total phenol, total flavonoid, total antioxidant activity, rutin, β-carotene, iron, calcium up to 6.23, 16.48, 18.62, 19.06, 8.08, 47.66, 32.74% in common buckwheat and 9.58, 16.66, 39.16, 9.19, 9.00, 53.99, 36.75% in tartary buckwheat was found by increasing doses of γ-radiations up to 800 Gy. Significant decrease was found in phytate, tannin, and oxalate content up to 18.92, 17.95, 15.32% in common buckwheat and 24.73, 19.72, 24.07% in tartary buckwheat. Conclusions: It can be concluded that 800 Gy dose of γ-radiation, maximally increased the nutritional value by significant (p < 0.05) increase in nutrients and their bioavailability. This makes buckwheat more amenable for daily consumption to fulfill RDA, by Himalayan population depending on traditional foods without any digestive problem. Furthermore, significant increase in rutin by γ-radiations will be useful to fulfill the demand of cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. But minimization of reduction loss for some nutrients by γ-radiations is the thrust area for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buckwheat is a widely consumed pseudo-cereal, has gained significant attention recently due to its high nutritional value, adaptability to various climates, and least cost of cultivation. During a field survey, it was reported by local communities, that prolonged consumption of buckwheat leaves and grains causes digestive problems and numbness in the fingers, it is due to toxic components and allergens present in buckwheat. In the present study, effects of different durations of microwave radiation on phytoconstituents of five buckwheat cultivars of Himalaya were studied, with special emphasis on anti-nutrients and allergenic proteins, to make it suitable for daily human consumption. Total phenols, total flavonoid, total antioxidant, protein, lysine, arginine, tryptophan, tannin, oxalate and phytic acid were estimated using standard spectrophotometric methods, and protein profiling for allergenic proteins was done by SDS-PAGE. It was found that increase in the duration of microwave treatment led to decrease in the total phenolics (8.3–12.1%), total flavonoids (9.0–11.5%), total antioxidants (5.0–7.1%), protein (3.5–7.9%), tryptophan (4.1–6.4%), arginine (3.2–7.1%) and lysine (4.2–8.6%) content, whereas, a significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction was found in anti-nutritional factors viz. phytic acid (23.0–53.1%), tannins (15.6–21.1%) and oxalate (13.8–25.3%). SDS-PAGE profiling revealed that, duration of microwave radiation is directly proportional to the reduction in the major allergenic proteins (30, 19 and 16-kDa) of buckwheat grains. Thus, it may be concluded from the current study that microwave treatment can be used as an effective strategy to improve the nutritional value by reducing the anti-nutrients and major allergens of raw buckwheat grains, and thus make them more amenable for daily consumption and for preparation of different by-products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]