Structural Properties of Corn-Legume Based Extrudates as a Function of Processing Conditions and Raw Material Characteristics

The effect of extrusion conditions, including feed rate (2.52–6.84 kg/h), feed moisture content (13–19% wet basis), screw speed (150–250 rpm), and extrusion temperature (150–230°C) on structural properties of corn-legume based extrudates was studied. Four different types of legumes, chickpea, mexican bean, white bean, and lentil were used to form mixtures with corn flour in a ratio ranging from 10 to 90% (corn/legume). A simple power model was used to correlate porosity with extrusion conditions and material characteristics. The influence of feed rate in the extrudates porosity is incorporated into mean residence time. Porosity of extrudates was found to increase with temperature and residence time and to decrease with feed moisture content and corn to legume ratio. Screw speed did not affect extrudates properties. Expansion ratio showed a similar behavior with porosity. The addition of legumes (protein source) led to more dense products. Comparatively, the usage of white bean in mixtures for the production of snacks, led to a product with higher porosity than those with other legumes.     

The impact of dehydration process on antinutrients and protein digestibility of some legume flours

Dehydrated foods are specially designed for patients with mastication or/and deglutition problems. This study has assessed the effects of soaking, cooking and industrial dehydration treatments on antinutrient factors and also on protein digestibility in legume flours (chickpea, lentil and bean). A general decline of phytic acid was observed during dehydration, being the most accentuated in case of lentil (44%), followed by white beans and pink-mottled cream beans. Beans were the legumes that showed the highest levels of enzyme inhibitors and lectins, however processing such as cooking and dehydration significantly reduced (p < 0.05) their levels further to negligible concentrations. The dehydration did not cause further effects than ordinary cooking in reduction of the concentration of polyphenolic compounds of flours. However, a higher increase of in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) was produced by dehydration in all legumes from 12% to 15%. Thus, dehydrated legume flours could be considered ready-to-use for special meals to specific populations.     

Effect of thermal treatments on vitality and physical characteristics of bean,chickpea and lentil

Thermal disinfestation treatments are relatively easy to apply, leave no chemical residues and may have some fungicidal activity. However, temperature and time combinations required to kill insect pests may meet or exceed those that reduce the viability of seeds, nutrients content, shelf life or technological characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thermal treatments (different temperature and time combinations) on physical and biological characteristics of bean, chickpea and lentil. Seed samples of common bean, chickpea and lentil were treated at low (12, 24 or 48 h at −18 °C) or high (30, 60 or 90 min at 60 °C) temperature. Seed germination, mean germination time, physical characteristics: solids loss, electrolytes leached and firmness after cooking, were determined. The use of thermal treatments for disinfesting seeds of bean, chickpea and lentil represent a physical technique of pest control that can be harmless for seeds destined for crop production (especially for organic farming) or to be stored in germplasm banks. Moreover, thermal treatments can be applied also to grain legumes used as food by humans, with no significant effect on lentils and with a reduction of cooking time for chickpeas. Beans should be treated only with cold treatments and for no more than 24 h.     

Impact of pre-treatment (soaking or germination) on nutrient and anti-nutrient contents,cooking time and acceptability of cooked red dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in Ethiopia

Pulses are processed in diverse ways prior to consumption. Soaking and germination are among the most common traditional, household-level food processing strategies. This study was carried out to determine the effects of soaking, germination, cooking and their combinations on the contents of selected nutrients and anti-nutrients of red dry bean and chickpea. In addition, the effects of pre-treatment on cooking time and the acceptability of dishes prepared from red dry bean and chickpea were determined. The nutrient compositions (zinc, iron and calcium) of most soaked-cooked and germinated-cooked red dry bean and chickpea samples were not significantly different than those of respective controls. However, soaking and germination pre-treatments significantly lowered the phytate and tannin contents of the red dry bean and chickpea samples, with a few exceptions, and overall, polyphenol contents were lower after soaking-cooking than after germination-cooking. Most scores for sensory attributes of bean-based and chickpea-based dishes prepared from soaked or germinated samples were not significantly different than those of the controls. For most red dry bean and chickpea samples, longer germination times yielded superior results in terms of reductions in cooking time, tannin content, and phytate:zinc and phytate:iron molar ratio.     

The inhibitory effect of albumin extracts from white beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) on in vitro iron and zinc dialysability: role of phytic acid

The role of phytic acid in determining iron and zinc dialysability in albumin extracts from raw, cooked and cooked/dephytinized white beans, has been investigated. Albumin extract from raw beans was characterized by high iron (19mg/100g), zinc (6.9mg/100g) and phytic acid (11.5μmol g⁻¹) contents and a low mineral dialysablity (Fe 0.48%, Zn 2.5%). Cooking did not influence the mineral dialysability from beans but significantly increased the dialysability of iron (1%, p < 0.001) and zinc (5.3%, p < 0.001) from the albumin extract. Slight modifications in the composition of inositol phosphates after cooking, both in beans and in albumin extract, were observed. The improvement in iron and zinc dialysability from cooked/dephytinized samples was strictly dependent on the residual IP(6 + 5) (inositol hexa + pentaphosphates) content. Compared to cooked beans, in cooked/dephytinized bean a reduction of IP(6 + 5) of 49% led to an increase of the iron and zinc dialysability (29% p < 0.05 and 42%, p < 0.001, respectively). Albumin extract from this sample showed a reduction of 58% in iron and of 45% in zinc content, an almost complete reduction in IP(6 + 5) content (0.6 μmol g⁻¹) and a strong increase in the iron and zinc dialysability. The albumin digests showed peptides of similar MW profiles but of different amino acid compositions. In particular, in peptides which derived from digestion of albumin extracted from cooked/dephytinized beans, a strong increase in cysteine content was found, indicating that, after the disruption of phytate-mineral-protein complexes cysteine-rich fragments were released. The study indicates that phytic acid is responsible for the low iron and zinc dialysability from the albumin bean fraction and indicates the significance of the amino acid composition of the protein digestion products for the enhancement of mineral dialysability.     

Effect of microwave treatment on the cooking and macronutrient qualities of pulses

The effect of microwave treatment to reduce the cooking times of five pulses, namely red lentil, chickpea, pigeon pea, mung bean, and pinto bean, were determined in this study. Pulses from 10 to 18% moisture contents were treated using 400 to 600 W microwaves for 14 to 56 s. The cooking times of microwave-treated pulses were significantly lower than that of the control samples. The lowest cooking time was observed for 18% moisture content chickpea and pigeon pea treated with 600 W for 56 s. The Fourier transform mid-infrared spectra in both lipids and fingerprint regions showed the macronutrients differences among the five pulses. Major changes were observed in the amide I region of microwave treated pulses. This effect of microwave treatment was higher in red lentil, chickpea, and mung bean than in pigeon pea and pinto bean at 10% moisture content. At 18% moisture content, the change of β-sheets to aggregates was observed in all pulses due to microwave treatment.     

EFFECTS OF COOKING AND DRYING PROCESSES ON PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF LEGUME BASED BULGUR

The changes in physical, chemical and sensory properties of common bean (CB) and chickpea (CP) bulgur prepared with different cooking (atmospheric, pressure and microwave) and drying (oven at 60, 70 and 80C; microwave at 350 and 700 W) processes were investigated. Neither the cooking methods nor the drying methods significantly affected the ash and protein contents of CB and CP bulgur. Pressure cooking gave lower phytate phosphorus and higher bulgur yield and volume increase values when compared to the other cooking methods. Average bulgur yields were found as 82% for CB and 84% for CP. Cooking processes decreased the phytic acid content of the bulgurs between 25.2 and 39.5% according to raw legume. Ca, K, Mg, P, Zn, Cu and Fe contents of the bulgurs decreased in variable degrees (8.69–28.5%) when compared to raw materials. Pressure cooked and oven (80C) dried bulgur samples in the case of bulgur pilaf were appreciated by the panelists in terms of overall acceptability.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Bulgur is a valuable cereal product with its high nutritional value and long shelf life. In this research, bulgur process was applied successfully on common bean and chickpea, and new legume-based bulgur products improved. The bulgur yield (BY) of the legumes was above 80%. Pressure cooking increased the nutritional, sensory and technological quality of the legume bulgurs.     

Carbohydrate composition of raw and extruded pulse flours

Extrusion cooking technology is commercially used in the fabrication of a variety of snack-type and ready-to-eat foods made from cereal grains. However, with the exception of soybean, pulses such as lentil, dry pea and chickpea have not been used for the development of extruded food products. In this study, total carbohydrates, mono-, di- and oligosaccharides, and soluble and insoluble dietary fiber were determined before and after extrusion cooking under specific processing conditions. Concentrations of total available carbohydrates (TAC) in lentil, chickpea and dry pea flours ranged from 625 g/kg to 657 g/kg dry matter. Dry pea showed the highest concentration of TAC, followed by chickpea and lentil. Extrusion processing did not significantly (p < 0.05) affect the TAC content of dry pea and lentil flours. However, extrusion processing decreased the concentration of the raffinose family of oligosaccharides (raffinose and stachyose) in pulse extrudates. Formulated pulse flours demonstrated a beneficial increase in dietary fiber. This research indicates that value-added, nutritious snacks with reduced levels of flatulence factors and higher contents of dietary fiber can be fabricated successfully by extrusion processing of formulations based on lentil, dry pea or chickpea, and represent good alternatives to traditional cereal-based snacks. Also, the commercialization of value-added, pulse-based snacks would increase pulse consumption.     

Effects of legume processing on calcium,iron and zinc contents and dialysabilities

Legumes are a good source of calcium, iron and zinc, but are also a source of phytates and dietary fibre components that can negatively affect the bioavailability of these minerals. To estimate the latter, an in vitro dialysis method can be applied that gives the dialysability of a mineral as an estimate of its availability for absorption. Calcium, iron and zinc contents and dialysabilities in three legumes (beans, chickpeas and lentils) and the effects of cooking treatments and industrial processing on these parameters were studied. Beans had the highest calcium content (1.54 g kg^?1 dry matter (DM)) and chickpeas the lowest iron content (46.9 mg kg^?1 DM), whilst the zinc contents were similar in all three raw legumes (33.7–36.9 mg kg^?1 DM). Traditional and microwave cooking reduced the mineral contents by 9.7–36.4% for calcium, 14.2–31% for iron and 11.1–28.9% for zinc. The dialysabilities of calcium with respect to the values for the raw products were also reduced by these cooking techniques. Industrially processed legumes had higher dialysabilities of calcium, iron and zinc than traditionally or microwave cooked legumes. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fermentation alters antioxidant capacity and polyphenol distribution in selected edible legumes

This study was designed to investigate the influences of fermentation by naturally occurring bacteria on legumes and lactic acid bacteria on antioxidant capacity and polyphenols in both soluble and bound extracts of eight common edible legumes, including black cow gram, mottled cowpea, speckled kidney bean, lentil, small rice bean, small runner bean and two soya beans. Fermentation had varying effects on the antioxidant capacity of soluble and bound extracts in different edible legumes, with fermented mottled cowpea, speckled kidney bean and small rice bean showing increased total antioxidant capacity. In addition, fermentation in general enhanced total phenolic content in all the selected legumes, which could be associated with the biotransformation between soluble phenolics and the release of bound phenolics induced by micro‐organisms involved in the fermentation process. Phenolic compounds, such as catechin, were increased in fermented mottled cowpea. Overall, fermentation could increase the bioavailability of legume polyphenols and fermented legume powders rich in antioxidant polyphenols can be used to develop novel functional foods.     

Optimisation of microwave digestion for determination of Fe,Zn, Mn and Cu in various legumes by flame atomic absorption spectrometry

Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu levels in three Turkish legumes, kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), lentil (Lens esculenta) and chickpea (Cicer arietinum), were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Dissolution conditions in the microwave‐assisted wet digestion method were studied by investigating several variables, including type of acid mixture, acid volume, digestion time, microwave power input and sample weight. Comparison with conventional wet acid digestion was also made. In order to check the element losses during digestion and the accuracy of the results, all tests were repeated after the addition of a spiked standard element solution to the legume sample. The microwave‐assisted digestion procedure optimised for kidney bean was adapted for lentil and chickpea. Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu concentrations (mg per 100 g sample) were determined in kidney bean as 6.27 ± 0.94, 2.23 ± 0.36, 1.64 ± 0.14 and 0.99 ± 0.19, in lentil as 8.24 ± 1.11, 2.46 ± 0.06, 1.17 ± 0.19 and 1.01 ± 0.28 and in chickpea as 6.00 ± 1.40, 2.21 ± 0.14, 1.60 ± 0.43 and 0.58 ± 0.18 respectively. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Trypsin Inhibitor Activity and Tannin Content Do Not Affect Calcium Bioavailability of Three Commonly Consumed Legumes

Calcium bioavailability from legumes containing a range in trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA) and tannin concentration was studied. Three cultivars (Phaseolus vulgaris) were hydroponically grown and intrinsically labeled with ^4SCa. Raw and cooked legumes were fed to six groups of 6-wk old male Sprague-Dawley rats. Another group received an intraperitoneal (IP) injection of ⁴⁵Ca. An eighth group was fed a casein metal extrinsically labeled with ⁴⁵Ca. The absorption of calcium from legumes by rats averaged 47.1 ± 7.5% of IP dose. Average phytate content of the legumes was 1.7% and oxalate 0.37%. Raw legumes had an average of 15000 TIA units/g of whole bean, which were completely removed by cooking. Calcium absorption was unaffected by TIA or tannin content. Reduced availability of bean calcium was likely due to phytate and/or oxalate present in legumes.     

Extrusion and iron bioavailability in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The effect of extrusion cooking (14% moisture and 130°C processing temperature) and of home-cooking on chickpea iron bioavailability was studied by the hemoglobin regeneration method in anemic rats. The iron pool was calculated from hemoglobin concentration and animal weight, and iron bioavailability from the relationship between iron pool gain (Δ pool) and mg of ingested iron. Iron bioavailability relative to ferrous sulfate was calculated by the following equation: Y=63.989 e^−0.0458X [Y= % absorbed; X=ingested Fe (mg)] on the basis of the results of control groups. The results showed that there was no significant difference between groups (extruded and cooked) in terms of mean percentage of iron bioavailability relative to Fe₂SO₄. We conclude that chickpea is a good source of iron and extrusion cooking is a process comparable to home-cooking in terms of iron bioavailability.     

In vitro digestibility of processed and fermented soya bean,cowpea and maize

Tropical legumes, ie soya bean and cowpea, were pre‐treated and subsequently fermented using pure cultures of Rhizopus spp. Impact of soaking, cooking and fermentation of the legumes on their digestibility was determined using an in vitro digestion method. Processing of white maize included, amongst others, natural lactic acid fermentation, cooking and saccharification using barley malt. An in vitro method was standardised to carry out comparative determinations of the dry matter digestibility of cereal and legume food samples as a function of processing conditions, without attempting to exactly mimic gastrointestinal digestion. Using this method based on upper digestive tract digestion, it was observed that digestibility of the legumes increased during cooking and fermentation. Cooking improved the total digestibility of both soya bean and cowpea from 36.5 to 44.8% and from 15.4 to 40.9% respectively. Subsequent fungal fermentation increased total digestibility only by about 3% for both soya bean and cowpea. Digestibility was also influenced by fungal strain and fermentation time. Cooking and subsequent saccharification using malt almost tripled total digestibility of white maize from 25.5 to 63.6%, whereas lactic fermentation of maize had no effect on in vitro dry matter digestibility. Although total digestibility of cooked legumes was only slightly improved by mould fermentation (3% for both soya bean and cowpea), the level of water‐soluble dry matter of food samples increased during fermentation with Rhizopus oryzae from 7.0 up to 27.3% for soya bean and from 4.3 up to 24.1% for cowpea. These fermented products could therefore play a role as sources of easily available nutrients for individuals suffering from digestive disorders. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

ENDOGENOUS PHYTATE-DEGRADING ENZYMES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PHYTATE REDUCTION WHILE PREPARING BEANS (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS)

The three dry nonprocessed bean varieties contain high amounts of phytate ranging from 9.3 to 15.9 μmol g^-1 dry basis, representing 85 to 89% of total myo-inositol phosphates, while the other myo-inositol phosphates were found only in small or trace amounts. Myo-inositol phosphate concentrations were not affected by soaking in water for 15h at 25C, whereas cooking resulted in a significant reduction in phytate content (16 to 24%) with a concomitant increase in the concentrations of the lower myo-inositol phosphates. The sum of phytate and myo-inositol pentakisphosphate after soaking and cooking represents about 93% of the amount in raw beans. Therefore, preparing of beans has only a limited effect on the content of myo-inositol phosphates with inhibitory effects on mineral absorption. Phytate-degrading enzymes (phytases) were identified as responsible for phytate removal during cooking, since a good correlation between phytase activity and phytate hydrolysis was observed.     

Legumes are valuable sources of tocopherols

Grain legumes contain numerous phytochemicals useful for their nutritional or nutraceutical properties, such as tocopherols, involved in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and eye pathologies. In this work, tocopherols were quantified in soybean, chickpea, lentil, pea, common bean, broad bean, and three lupin species. In all samples, the gamma congener was the most abundant tocopherol, followed by minor quantities of alpha-tocopherol (with the exception of common bean lacking in this congener) and delta-tocopherol (with the exception of Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus mutabilis). Beta-tocopherol and tocotrienols were never detected. Some samples of soybean, pea, white lupin and chickpea contained over 10 mg/100 g seeds of total tocopherols. In order to estimate the nutritional value, the vitamin E activity was calculated. Chickpea, soybean and, to a lesser extent, lupin, broad bean and pea may contribute in a relevant way to the daily intake of this vitamin.     

Oligosaccharides in Eleven Legumes and Their Air-Classified Protein and Starch Fractions

Oligosaccharide compositions of flours from dehulled seeds of eleven legumes were determined by gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy. While soybean contained 11.7% sugars, concentrations in lupine, cowpea, chickpea and lentil were about 8%; lima, navy and northern beans, field pea, mung bean and fababean contained about 5% of sugars. Sucrose represented 20–55% of the total sugars; stachyose was the principal α-galactoside in most species. In addition, high amounts of manninotriose were found in chickpea and lentil flours whereas verbascose was a major component in field pea, mung bean and fababean flours. The nine species and biotypes which contained starch were pin milled and air-classified into protein-rich and starch-rich fractions. The protein fractions were 40–90% higher than the flours in α-galactosides, especially raffinose, manninotriose, stachyose and verbascose. The starch fractions were depleted in α-galactosides, the concentrations varied from 1.2–2.8% of the fraction.     

Sensory and Physicochemical Studies of Thermally Micronized Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and Green Lentil (Lens culinaris) Flours as Binders in Low‐Fat Beef Burgers

Pulses are known to be nutritious foods but are susceptible to oxidation due to the reaction of lipoxygenase (LOX) with linolenic and linoleic acids which can lead to off flavors caused by the formation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Infrared micronization at 130 and 150 °C was investigated as a heat treatment to determine its effect on LOX activity and VOCs of chickpea and green lentil flour. The pulse flours were added to low‐fat beef burgers at 6% and measured for consumer acceptability and physicochemical properties. Micronization at 130 °C significantly decreased LOX activity for both flours. The lentil flour micronized at 150 °C showed a further significant decrease in LOX activity similar to that of the chickpea flour at 150 °C. The lowering of VOCs was accomplished more successfully with micronization at 130 °C for chickpea flour while micronization at 150 °C for the green lentil flour was more effective. Micronization minimally affected the characteristic fatty acid content in each flour but significantly increased omega‐3 and n‐6 fatty acids at 150 °C in burgers with lentil and chickpea flours, respectively. Burgers with green lentil flour micronized at 130 and 150 °C, and chickpea flour micronized at 150 °C were positively associated with acceptability. Micronization did not affect the shear force and cooking losses of the burgers made with both flours. Formulation of low‐fat beef burgers containing 6% micronized gluten‐free binder made from lentil and chickpea flour is possible based on favorable results for physicochemical properties and consumer acceptability.     

Physicochemical,functional andATR‐FTIR molecular analysis of protein extracts derived from starchy pulses

An alkaline solubilisation and isoelectric point precipitation process were used to isolate proteins from broad bean, chickpea, lentil and white bean. The physicochemical, water solubility and foaming properties as well as their protein digestion characteristics of whole flours and its protein extracts were correlated with their molecular characteristics, analysed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐FTIR). The processing of pulses resulted in protein recoveries ≥50.12% and yields up to 30.26% for broad bean. The purity of the protein was from 68.27% to 86.58% for chickpea and broad bean, with in vitro digestion values ≥80.59%. The protein extracts showed up to 0.85 mg g^?1 of phenolic compounds (gallic acid eq./100 g). The ATR‐FTIR analysis of the extracts showed different proportions of α‐helix and β‐sheet secondary structures of the amide II group. The analysis of the amide III group reflected inter‐ and intramolecular associations that could have influenced their emulsion and foam characteristics.     

Comparative study of three legume starches

Starch content of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum ), pigeon pea ( Cajanus cajan ) and bonavist bean ( Dolichos lablab ) was 58,52 and 50% respectively with recovery of 57.9, 48.1 and 49.0%. The amylose content was 33.5, 27.0 and 31.0%; amylose chain length was 1420,550 and 830 glucose units and amylopectin chain length was 29, 27 and 28 glucose units for chickpea, pigeon pea and bonavist bean respectively. Chickpea starch granules ranged from large oval shaped (21 × 30 pm) to small spherical (13 pm in diameter); pigeon pea from (35 × 42 pm) to 15.2 pm and bonavist bean (35 × 42 pm) to 15.2 pm. The gelatin-ization temperature range was 67–76°C for chickpea, 71–78°C for pigeon pea and 78–80°C for bonavist bean starch. The swelling power for chickpea, pigeon pea and bonavist bean at 95°C were 17, 18.5 and 22.5% respectively. The legumes showed a single-stage and somewhat restricted swelling. Solubility curves for legume starches showed a similar pattern and indicated that they have higher solubility at elevated temperatures than wheat starch. The liquefaction characteristics showed that chickpea has the highest resistance to cooking and was the most sensitive to a-amylase. The three legume starches gave stabilized Brabender hot-paste viscosity; chickpea had a lower overall viscosity due to its exceptionally long amylose chains.