BACKGROUND Lentil is an important nutritionally rich pulse crop in the world. Despite having a prominent role in human health and nutrition, it is very unfortunate that global lentil production is adversely limited by drought stress, causing a huge decline in yield and productivity. Drought stress can also affect the nutritional profile of seeds. Silicon (Si) is an essential element for plants and a general component of the human diet found mainly in plant-based foods. This study investigated the effects of Si on nutritional and sensory properties of seeds obtained from lentil plants grown in Si-supplied drought-stressed environment. RESULTS Significant enhancements in the concentration of nutrients (protein, carbohydrate, dietary fibre, Si) and antioxidants (ascorbate, phenol, flavonoids, total antioxidants) were found in seeds. Significant reductions in antinutrients (trypsin inhibitor, phytic acid, tannin) were also recorded. A novel sensory analysis was implemented in this study to evaluate the unconscious and conscious responses of consumers. Biometrics were integrated with a traditional sensory questionnaire to gather consumers responses. Significant positive correlations (R = 0.6-1) were observed between sensory responses and nutritional properties of seeds. Seeds from Si-treated drought-stressed plants showed higher acceptability scores among consumers. CONCLUSION The results demonstrated that Si supplementation can improve the nutritional and sensory properties of seeds. This study offers an innovative approach in sensory analysis coupled with biometrics to accurately assess consumer's preference towards tested samples. In the future, the results of the current study would help in making a predictive model for sensory traits and nutritional components in seeds using machine learning modelling techniques. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

中文翻译：

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硅补充剂改善了从干旱胁迫植物中获得的扁豆种子的营养和感官特性

背景小扁豆是世界上重要的营养丰富的豆类作物。尽管在人类健康和营养方面发挥着重要作用，但非常不幸的是，全球小扁豆生产受到干旱压力的不利限制，导致产量和生产力大幅下降。干旱压力也会影响种子的营养状况。硅 (Si) 是植物的必需元素，也是人类饮食的一般成分，主要存在于植物性食物中。本研究调查了硅对从在供应硅的干旱胁迫环境中生长的扁豆植物获得的种子的营养和感官特性的影响。结果 发现种子中营养素（蛋白质、碳水化合物、膳食纤维、Si）和抗氧化剂（抗坏血酸、苯酚、类黄酮、总抗氧化剂）的浓度显着增加。还记录了抗营养物质（胰蛋白酶抑制剂、植酸、单宁）的显着减少。本研究采用了一种新颖的感官分析来评估消费者的无意识和有意识的反应。生物识别技术与传统的感官问卷相结合，以收集消费者的反应。在种子的感官反应和营养特性之间观察到显着的正相关（R = 0.6-1）。来自经硅处理的干旱胁迫植物的种子在消费者中表现出更高的可接受性分数。结论 结果表明，Si 补充可以改善种子的营养和感官特性。这项研究提供了一种创新的感官分析方法，结合生物识别技术，可以准确评估消费者对测试样品的偏好。将来，当前研究的结果将有助于使用机器学习建模技术为种子的感官性状和营养成分建立预测模型。本文受版权保护。版权所有。