Oilseed Germination: Mobilization of Lipids and Lipid-Soluble Bioactive Concomitants for Nutritional Enhancement

Global oilseed cultivation areas and edible consumptions are substantial, increasing demand for optimized oilseed quality. Germination, a green process for enhancing nutritional value of oilseeds, promotes the transfer of carbon sources from primary metabolites to the synthesis of secondary metabolites through physiological regulation. This article systematically reviews germination process, oil body alterations, lipid changes, and variations in the content, composition, and distribution of lipid-soluble bioactive concomitants, including phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes, tocopherols, sterols, carotenoids, chlorophylls, γ-oryzanol, and isothiocyanates. Lipids of nondormant oilseeds are catabolized, oxidized, and synthesized in oil bodies, peroxisomes, mitochondria, cytosol, and endoplasmic reticulum as oil bodies migrate, changing lipid composition, fatty acid chain length, and saturation. Germination-activated gene transcription and enzyme expression in pathways of production, conversion, and oxidation about lipid-soluble bioactive concomitants, increasing levels of free or higher active forms. Recent studies integrating genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics related to germination have provided that oilseed germination is driven by highly coordinated transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and metabolic regulation. These regulatory networks reprogram lipid mobilization and bioactive compound responses at the molecular level and are predominantly concentrated in growth regions that are highly susceptible to environmental influences. Germinated oilseeds have better physiological benefits, including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, immunity enhancement, and metabolic regulation, indirectly optimizing germinated seed oil quality. Collectively, this review analyses germination's effects on improving oilseed quality across plant physiology, substance optimization, and edible value.