Atmospheric Cold Plasma Pretreatment on Germination of Guar Bean Seeds: Effect on Germination Parameters, Bioactive Compounds, Antinutritional Factors, Functional Groups, and In Vitro Protein Digestibility

In this study, atmospheric cold plasma (CP; voltage: 15–25 kV and time: 30–120 s) was applied to guar bean seeds (GBS) and then germinated for 5 days to understand the germination ability based on the germination parameters and chlorophyll content. After that, carbohydrate, protein, bioactive compounds, antinutritional factors, and in vitro protein digestibility of germinated GBS were analyzed. The results showed that CP treatment has significantly (p < 0.05) affected the germination parameters, majorly germination percentage, root length, and chlorophyll content of GBS. The CP-pretreated (20 kV for 90 s) germinated samples (on the fifth day) had maximum germination ability and less antinutritional factors. Similarly, the CP-pretreated germinated samples (15 and 20 kV for 90 s) showed higher in vitro protein digestibility and bioactive compounds than others. Unfortunately, higher applied voltage and duration negatively affected the germination process. From principal component analysis, medium-intensity CP treatment conditions were more effective in accelerating the germination process of GBS.