Micronutrient deficiencies and the increased incidences of non-communicable diseases are public health challenges for the sub-Saharan population. Leafy vegetables reportedly contain several minerals, vitamins and antioxidant compounds which could help reduce the above challenges. However, overall vegetable consumption is still low in Uganda, partly due to limited information about the nutritional quality and health-promoting properties of the available vegetable species. To provide scientific justification for increased growth/production and utilisation of specific leafy vegetable species as food, the nutrient and phytochemical compositions were determined in nine African leafy vegetables. The ‘true’ protein and dietary fibre contents were 13–33 and 29–43 g/100 g DW, respectively, whereas the starch content was below 6 g/100 g DW. As for the minerals, the Ca, Mg, and Fe contents were 630–3395, 324–1428, and 14–78 mg/100 g DW, respectively, whereas the Zn content was below 6 mg/100 g DW. High carotenoid contents were observed with lutein and β-carotene as the predominant carotenoids (25–60 and 12–29 mg/100 g DW, respectively). The vitamin C and total polyphenol contents were 24–253 mg/100 g DW and 17–43 mg GAE/g DW, respectively. The leafy vegetables studied are low-calorie and can be considered alternative protein sources. They are generally health-beneficial foods as they contain natural antioxidant compounds, vitamin C, carotenoids and polyphenols. African nightshade, Amaranthus sp., cowpea leaves, and spider plant are potential sources of provitamin A (β-carotene) and minerals (Ca and Fe); hence, they can help reduce incidences of related deficiencies.

Pulsed electric fields (PEF) at low field strength is considered a non-thermal technique allowing membrane permeabilization in plant-based tissue, hence possibly impacting biochemical conversions and the concomitant volatile profile. Detailed studies on the impact of PEF at low field strength on biochemical conversions in plant-based matrices are scarce but urgently needed to provide the necessary scientific basis allowing to open a potential promising field of applications. As a first objective, the effect of PEF and other treatments that aim to steer biochemical conversions on the volatile profile of Brussels sprouts was compared in this study. As a second objective, the effect of varying PEF conditions on the volatile profile of Brussels sprouts was elucidated. Volatile fingerprinting was used to deduce whether and which (bio)chemical reactions had occurred. Surprisingly, PEF at 1.01 kV/cm and 2.7 kJ/kg prior to heating was assumed not to have caused significant membrane permeabilization since similar volatiles were observed in the case of only heating, as opposed to mixing. A PEF treatment with an electrical field strength of 3.00 kV/cm led to a significantly higher formation of certain enzymatic reaction products, being more pronounced when combined with an energy input of 27.7 kJ/kg, implying that these PEF conditions could induce substantial membrane permeabilization. The results of this study can be utilized to steer enzymatic conversions towards an intended volatile profile of Brussels sprouts by applying PEF.