Microbial biopriming and germination cooperatively remodel brown lentil seeds (Lens culinaris L.) metabolome and antidiabetic functionality

Lentil seeds are packed with essential nutrients and health-promoting phytochemicals, yet the dual effect of biopriming and germination on their chemical and functional properties is not fully resolved. Thus, the current study investigates the impact of bacterial biopriming (B. pomilus and E. hormaechei) followed by germination on reshaping the chemical and biological attributes of lentil seeds using UPLC-MS metabolomics and chemometrics approaches. Sixty-nine metabolites spanning amino acids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, gibberellins, and fatty acids were annotated. OPLS-DA analysis exhibited an obvious separation pattern among the samples reflecting their chemical heterogeneity, where the compounds mainly gallocatechin, phloretin, α-tocotrienol, and eicosapentanoic acid were significantly augmented in sprouted (unprimed) samples, while the sprouted samples bioprimed with B. pomilus witnessed a striking accumulation of carboxyvanillic acid, resveratrol, isorhamnetin, gibberellic acid, and gibberellin A4. Further, E. hormaechei biopriming significantly fortified rosmarinic acid, syringic acid, quercetin, apigenin, and linolenic acid. Functionally, bioprimed sprouts displayed superior α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition and enhanced glucose uptake relative to raw and unprimed germinated seeds, aligning with higher levels of sinapic acid, apigenin, isorhamnetin, and linolenic acid. These findings position microbe-assisted germination as a sustainable strategy to fortify the functional attributes of lentil seeds for nutraceutical applications.