Biochelates from Spent Coffee Grounds Increases Iron Levels in Dutch Cucumbers but Affects Their Antioxidant Capacity Navajas Porras, Beatriz Cervera Mata, Ana Gloria Fernández Arteaga, Alejandro Delgado-Osorio, Adriana Navarro-Moreno, Miguel Hinojosa Nogueira, Daniel José Pastoriza de la Cueva, Silvia Delgado Calvo-Flores, Gabriel Navarro Alarcón, Miguel Rufián Henares, José Ángel Cucumber Iron Spent coffee grounds Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are a type of food waste and are produced in abundance around the world. However, their utilization as a soil organic amendment is challenging due to their phytotoxic effect. In the present work, the impact of agronomic biofortification on Dutch cucumbers was investigated using different chemically modified SCG and analyzing their effects on iron contents, their capacity for releasing antioxidants, and the production of short-chain fatty acids after in vitro digestion–fermentation. The results indicated variations in the iron contents and chemical compositions of cucumbers according to the treatment groups. Functionalized and activated hydrochar from SCG increased Fe levels in cucumbers. Although activated hydrochar obtained at 160 ºC and functionalized with Fe showed the highest iron supply per serving, differences in antioxidant capacity and short-chain fatty acid production were observed between the groups. It is concluded that growing conditions and the presence of iron may significantly influence the contribution of these cucumbers to the dietary intake of nutrients and antioxidants, which could have important implications for human health and nutrition. 2024-06-04T07:59:41Z 2024-06-04T07:59:41Z 2024-04-15 journal article Navajas-Porras, B.; Cervera-Mata, A.; Fernández-Arteaga, A.; Delgado-Osorio, A.; Navarro-Moreno, M.; Hinojosa-Nogueira, D.; Pastoriza, S.; Delgado, G.; Navarro-Alarcón, M.; Rufián-Henares, J.Á. Biochelates from Spent Coffee Grounds Increases Iron Levels in Dutch Cucumbers but Affects Their Antioxidant Capacity. Antioxidants 2024, 13, 465. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox13040465 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/92288 10.3390/antiox13040465 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI