Bioactive constituents and potential health benefits of fermented seed products

The fermentation process has, over time, been widely used in the production of various foods, including edible seeds. Fermentation of edible seeds and their products, such as cereals and soy, are beneficial to health, as it promotes an improvement in the nutritional profile of foods. This traditional method involves microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, capable of increasing the number of bioactive compounds and triggering numerous beneficial effects, such as antiobesity, anticancer, antioxidant, and antiinflammatory effects, among others. To highlight the importance of the fermentation process in the production of bioactive compounds from edible seeds and their bioactivities, this chapter discusses the most recent studies and highlights the different methods of fermentation used. In general, the observed bioactivities were endowed by various bioactive compounds, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids, after the fermentation of edible seeds and their products, which shows the importance of this process to improve food nutritional profile, suggesting its inclusion in the human diet and its use in the treatment of various diseases.