Distribution of Phosphorus and Phytate in Some Nigerian Varieties of Legumes and Some Effects of Processing

Phytate anion, total phosphorus (P), phytate-P, inorganic and residual P contents were determined in different varieties of cowpeas, lima beans and soybeans. The dry seeds were subjected to different processing methods which included cooking, autoclaving, soaking and germination. Germination and soaking were most effective in decreasing phytate contents while cooking and autoclaving only slightly altered total P, phytate and phytate-P contents in all varieties. Germination increased inorganic P contents but effected the highest percentage loss in residual organic P. Soybean contained considerable amounts of phytate anion and despite the reduction through processing, phytate content still exceeded the amount present in all varieties of raw lima beans.     

Changes in chemical composition of lupin seeds (Lupinus angustifolius) after selective α‐galactoside extraction

A selective procedure for the extraction of α‐galactosides has been employed in two sweet lupin seeds (Lupinus angustifolius var. Troll and var. Emir) in order to reduce flatulence‐causing factors. Different nutritional parameters (proteins, fat, ash, dietary fibre, starch, sucrose, vitamins B₁, B₂, E and C) and antinutritional factors (α‐galactosides, trypsin inhibitor activity and inositol phosphates) were studied in raw and processed seeds. The α‐galactoside content in both varieties was reduced by 87–100%. The extracted lupins seeds presented a high retention in protein and fat (109–136% and 95–104%, respectively). Sucrose and soluble dietary fibre, however, decreased significantly as a result of processing and retentions ranged between 5 and 29%. The vitamin B₁, B₂, and E contents decreased during selective extraction, the retentions being in the ranges 25–47%, 38–40%, and 48–54%, respectively, for var. Troll and Emir. However extracted lupin seeds still contained important amounts of vitamins and insoluble dietary fibre, compounds with nutritional importance. Raw and processed lupins did not contain starch. TIA and vitamin C were not detected, and total inositol phosphates were modified slightly after extraction. In conclusion, the lupin seeds obtained by the extraction of α‐galactosides can be an adequate proteic ingredient to be incorporated in functional foods. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Saponin content of chickpea and black gram: Varietal differences and effects of processing and cooking methods

Differences were observed in saponin contents of eight varieties of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and four of black gram (Phaseolus mungo). Common domestic processing and cooking treatments reduced the saponin level of the pulses significantly. Sprouting had the most pronounced effect followed by autoclaving, soaking and ordinary cooking. Cooking of soaked as well as unsoaked seeds had a similar diminishing effect.     

Effect of treatment with α‐galactosidase,tannase or a cell‐wall‐degrading enzyme complex on the nutritive utilisation of protein and carbohydrates from pea (Pisum sativum L.) flour

The effect of treatment with α‐galactosidase, tannase or a cell‐wall‐degrading enzyme complex under optimal conditions of pH, temperature and length of incubation time on the chemical composition and nutritive utilisation of protein and carbohydrates from pea (Pisum sativum L.) flour was studied. Soaking of pea flours in combination with enzyme treatment led to reductions of 77–90% in the levels of α‐galactosides, and of 60–80% in the levels of trypsin inhibitor activity, increasing the content of total available sugars, which was highest in the pea flour treated with the cell‐wall‐degrading enzyme complex. All the treatments assayed caused a significant improvement in daily food intake, whereas the nutritive utilisation of protein was not increased in any of the pea products tested when compared to the raw pea flour. However, all the soaking and enzymatic treatments led to a significant improvement in daily weight gain associated with a higher dietary intake of food and total available sugars. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Starch and protein digestibility of newly released moth bean cultivars: Effect of soaking, dehulling, germination and pressure cooking

Effect of soaking (12 h), soaking (12 h) dehulling, germination (60 h) and pressure cooking on starch and protein digestibility of four varieties of moth bean, one Local commonly used by the farmers of the area and three newly released high yielding varieties, Jwala, RMO 225 and RMO 257, was studied. The starch digestibility of raw unprocessed moth bean cultivars differed significantly (P < 0.05) from 25.4-28.2 mg maltose released/g flour being the highest and lowest in RMO 257 and RMO 225, respectively. The protein digestibility differed significantly from 70.3-74.6 per cent among all the unprocessed varieties of moth bean. All the processing treatments namely soaking, dehulling, germination and pressure cooking brought about appreciable enhancement in protein digestibility (1-19%) over the control and starch digestibility (19-115%) of all the four moth bean cultivars. However, out of all the processing treatments, germination (60 h) of soaked seeds (12 h) was the most effective in bringing about improvement in digestibility of starch and protein followed by dehulling and soaking (12 h).     

Effect of soaking,dehulling, and cooking methods on certain antinutrients and in vitro protein digestibility of bitter and sweet lupin seeds

Effect of several physical treatments (soaking, dehulling, ordinary cooking, microwave cooking, and autoclaving) on the level of antinutrients and in vitro protein digestibility of bitter and sweet lupin seeds were investigated. The raw bitter and sweet lupin seeds were found to contain phytic acid, tannins, trypsin inhibitor activity, and lectin activity, but α-amylase inhibitor was absent. Dehulling significantly increased the levels of phytic acid (PA), trypsin inhibitor activity (TIA), and tannins, but lectin activity was not changed. Also soaking in bitter (for 96 hr) and sweet (for 24 hr) seeds caused a significant increase in these factors except lectin activity. Cooking methods differently affected the levels of the antinutrients. Thus, PA increased but tannins were not changed, on the other hand TI and lectin activities were inactivated; ordinary cooking and autoclaving were the most effective in both seeds. For combination effect, soaking following cooking treatments significantly decreased PA, tannins, and lectin activity, but increased TIA in both seeds. Moreover, dehulling following soaking and cooking methods resulted in a significant increase of PA, TIA, and tannins. In vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of raw bitter and sweet lupin seeds were 78.55 and 79.46%, respectively and it was improved by all processing methods; soakingdehulling after autoclaving was the most effective in both seeds. Although some treatments increased the level of antinutrients, they improved IVPD. Therefore, the studied antinutrients are not the only responsible factor for lowering IVPD.     

Antinutritional factors in Moth Bean (Vigna aconitifolia): Varietal Differences and Effects of Methods of Domestic Processing and Cooking

Significant varietal differences were observed in the contents of phytic acid, saponin and trypsin inhibitor activity of four varieties of Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia Jacq.). Tannins and lectins were absent. The dry seeds were given different treatments including soaking, sprouting and cooking and the changes in the level of the antinutritional factors were estimated. Soaking the seeds in plain water and mineral salt solution for 12 hr decreased phytic acid to the maximum (46–50%) whereas sprouting for 60 hr had the most pronounced saponin lowering effect (4466%). The other methods of processing were less effective in reducing the levels of these antinutritional factors. The processing methods involving heat treatment almost eliminated trypsin inhibitor activity while soaking and germination partly removed the activity.     

Effect of Processing on Certain Antinutrients in Seeds of Şeker Variety (P. vulgaris L.) Grown in Turkey

Abstract

The effects of different cooking/autoclaving methods were investigated on sucrose, raffinose, stachyose, phytic acid, and tannins content of ?eker bean seeds (Phaseolus vulgaris). All these oligosaccharides and antinutrients decreased under various cooking/autoclaving treatments. Among the different cooking/ autoclaving treatments, 18 h sodium bicarbonate solution soaking followed by autoclaving procedures were the most effective for removing oligosaccharides (65–72%), phytic acid (51%), and tannins (100%). These conditions could be recommended to remove undesirable sugar contents and antinutrients of the ?eker bean used for culinary purposes.     

Phytic acid content of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and black gram (Vigna mungo): varietal differences and effect of domestic processing and cooking methods

Phytic acid content of various cultivars showed a narrow variation: 7.48-8.00 g kg^?1 and 6.47-6.68 g kg^?1 for chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) and black gram (Vigna mungo L), respectively. Phytic acid was lowered significantly by the common methods of domestic processing and cooking including soaking, cooking, autoclaving and sprouting of the legume grains. Sprouting had the most marked phytic acid lowering effect followed by autoclaving and soaking. Cooking of soaked seeds lowered phytic acid by 20-26% in chickpea and 35-40% in black gram grains whereas the loss was 7-11% and 6-9% in these pulses, respectively, when unsoaked seeds were cooked.     

Effect of different treatments on the microstructure and functional and pasting properties of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.), dolichos bean (Dolichos lablab L.) and jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis) flours from the north‐east Argentina

The effect of germination (G; 5 days), soaking‐cooking (SC; 6 h–20 min, 6 h–40 min, 6 h–60 min) and microwave (M; 50%, 70%, 100%) treatments on pigeon pea (PP), dolichos bean (DB) and jack bean (JB) seeds was studied. Microstructure of seeds and functional (protein solubility, water‐holding capacity, oil‐holding capacity, emulsion stability) and pasting properties of flours were determined. Germination and microwave treatments modified the protein matrix of cotyledon cells preserving the shape of the starch granule, whereas the SC treatment (6 h–60 min) affected both. The soaking‐cooking is the most influential treatment on the functional properties of PP, DB and JB flours, as increased water absorption capacity (73–96%), decreased protein solubility (>80%) and the tendency to retrogradation of amylose (69–85%) also improved emulsion stability.     

Nutritional value of African yambean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa L): improvement by lactic acid fermentation

Tropical African yambean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa L) is an under‐utilised hardy, protein‐rich legume. Antinutrients and the excessively long cooking time (4–6 h), among other factors, limit the food use of African yambean seeds. To reduce these limitations, non‐traditional, less energy‐consuming processing methods are required. Seeds of different varieties were (i) examined for ingredients and (ii) fermented with Lactobacillus plantarum. Comparisons with traditionally cooked beans were made. Protein content and in vitro protein digestibility were increased slightly by fermentation or cooking. Reductions in trypsin and α‐amylase inhibitor activity and tannin ranged from significant to complete. The contents of potentially very toxic cyanogenic glycosides and flatulence‐causing α‐galactosides were high in raw beans. Reduction by fermentation (by 85%) was clearly more effective than by traditional cooking (10–20%). The results demonstrate (i) that fermentation can substantially improve the nutritional quality and (ii) that the energy requirement to produce a basic consumable fermented food from African yambean is only 10% of that of traditional cooking. On these grounds, widespread application of lactic acid fermentation by individuals or small‐scale industries would be advantageous in the context of small‐household economy, environmental protection, health and long‐term sustainable agriculture in Nigeria. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Extraction of favism‐inducing agents from whole seeds of faba bean (Vicia faba L var major)

The objective of the present study was to establish a suitable procedure by which favism‐inducing glycosides vicine and convicine could be completely removed from whole seeds of faba beans without distorting their shape or reducing their nutritive value. Detoxification procedures carried out were extraction by water or, 10 g l^?1 acid solutions (acetic, citric and phosphoric acid) using stepwise or continuous soaking procedures. Three cultivars of the beans were used in the study. In the stepwise soaking procedures, the seeds were soaked in either water or acid solution at 40 °C for different periods while in the continuous flow techniques, the solutions were constantly passed through a seed reservoir under different time–temperature–flow rate conditions. Extraction of vicine and convicine increased with increasing temperature and period of soaking and/or continuous flow of soaking solutions. Neither stepwise soaking nor autoclaving could effectively remove the favism factors from the whole seeds. The best results were obtained with continuous flow soaking in tap water, giving vicine‐ and convicine‐free seeds. The protein contents of treated seeds were only slightly affected and their physical structure remained intact. Thus, it was concluded that the latter procedure was the method of choice for detoxification of dry whole seeds. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nutritional quality of legume seeds as affected by some physical treatments 2. Antinutritional factors

Raw and treated cowpea, pea and kidney bean seeds were investigated for their content of antinutritional factors including tannins, phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors and oligosaccharides. Treatments applied included water soaking, boiling, roasting, microwave cooking, autoclaving, fermentation and micronization. Kidney bean contained the highest antinutrient content among all investigated seeds. The least tannins and phytic acid contents were recorded in Canadian cowpea while Canadian pea showed the lowest TIA. All treatments conducted caused significant decreases in tannins, phytic acid, TIA and oligosaccharides as compared to the raw seeds. Boiling caused the highest reduction in tannins followed by autoclaving and microwave cooking. Autoclaving and fermentation were the most effective in reducing phytic acid content. Heat treatments (boiling, roasting, microwave cooking and autoclaving) brought a total removal of trypsin inhibitors of all samples. Furthermore, autoclaving caused the highest reduction in oligosaccharides followed by fermentation while the least reductions were caused by either roasting or micronization with no significant difference between these two treatments.     

Effects of Processing on the Reduction of β-ODAP (β-N-Oxalyl-L-2,3-diaminopropionic acid) and Anti-Nutrients of Khesari Dhal,Lathyrus sativus

Effects of different processing techniques on the neurotoxin, β-ODAP (β- N -oxalyl-L-2,3-diaminopropionic acid), and the anti-nutritional compounds (phytate, polyphenols, trypsin and amylase inhibitors, and lectins) within four lines of Lathyrus sativus (high-, medium- and low-ODAP, and so-called ODAP-free) were investigated. Soaking of seeds in various media reduced the contents of these compounds to a varying and significant extent; losses were higher in freshly boiled water, alkaline and tamarind solutions than after soaking in drinking water. The highest losses in boiled water (65–70%) were observed for β-ODAP, followed by trypsin inhibitors (42–48%) and polyphenols (30–37%). Ordinary cooking and pressure cooking of pre-soaked seeds were found to be most effective in reducing the levels of all the natural toxicants examined, whilst fermentation and germination were more effective in destroying both of the enzyme inhibitors (amylase inhibitors by 69–71%; trypsin inhibitors by 65–66%) than either phytates or polyphenols. Lectins were not affected by most of these processes except by pressure cooking and fermentation. Dehusking of pre-soaked seeds significantly reduced β-ODAP levels, but this reduction was lower for the anti-nutrients. These findings and the high water solubility suggest that a simple and effective means of detoxifying Lathyrus by removing this neurotoxic amino acid may be practicable.     

EFFECT OF PROCESSING TREATMENTS ON NUTRITIONAL AND ANTINUTRITIONAL CONTENTS OF GREEN GRAM

High‐yielding varieties of green gram (Vigna radiata L.), namely Asha and MH1K‐25 contained a significant amount of antinutrients. Various processing and cooking methods, namely soaking, dehulling, ordinary cooking, pressure cooking and sprouting, decreased the level of antinutrients and improved in vitro digestibility of protein and in vitro availability of calcium, iron and zinc observed. The beneficial effect was more pronounced with pressure‐cooked and soaked seeds followed by ordinary cooking, sprouting (24 h), dehulling and soaking in both cultivars. A significant increase in in vitro protein digestibility (34–35%), in vitro availability of Ca (59–61%), Fe (52–56%) and Zn (62–67%) may be ascribed to the reduced content of phytic acid (35–39%), polyphenols (41–42%) and trypsin inhibitor activity (69–70%). Pressure cooking was the most effective treatment in improving the nutritional quality of green gram.     

Polyphenols of chickpea and blackgram as affected by domestic processing and cooking methods

The effects of soaking, cooking, autoclaving and sprouting on the polyphenol contents of eight cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and four of blackgram (Vigna mungo) were studied. All the treatments reduced the polyphenols of the legume seeds, but to a varying extent. Sprouting and autoclaving had the most pronounced effect; ordinary cooking and soaking were relatively less effective.     

The cyanogenic glycoside contents of raw and processed limabean varieties

Eighteen varieties of limabean (Phaseolus lunatus), were subjected to the processes of cooking, autoclaving, soaking in water and germination for 6 days. The effects of these processes on the free and bound HCN contents of the raw limabean varieties were investigated. Total HCN in the raw varieties ranged from 265 mg kg^?1 in TPL 071-33 and 553 mg kg^?1 in TPL 13. Considerable variability was encountered in the different varieties and processing effects tended to make these varietal differences even more pronounced. Autoclaving gave a mean total loss of 53·9% in total HCN content while cooking effected a 64·8%–81·9% loss in total HCN content. Drastic reductions in both free and bound HCN contents were obtained in all cooked varieties. Soaking for 2 days effected the highest HCN loss in TPL 2 (40·1%), closely followed by TPL 13 (39·7%) and then TPL 3 (35·4%). All varieties, by the sixth day of soaking, lost between 61·3 and 86·4% of their total HCN contents. The effect of germination on HCN contents increased progressively from a mean total loss of 24·5% in day 2 to 55·6% in day 4 and 76·1% in day 6. Cooking and germination for 6 days appeared to be equally effective in reducing free and bound contents. Autoclaving was the least effective of all the processes studied.     

Screening grape seeds recovered from winemaking by‐products as sources of reducing agents and mammalian α‐glucosidase and α‐amylase inhibitors

Grape seeds collected from vinification of various grape varieties were extracted by supercritical CO₂ for oil recovery. The defatted residues thus obtained were considered as a re‐utilisable co‐product and assessed for phenolic content, reducing capacity and inhibitory activities against mammalian α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase enzymes. Supercritical CO₂ treatment led to higher recovery of anthocyanins. Reducing capacity of phenolic extracts reached up to ~2200 mmolFe(II) kg^?1, much higher than that of various natural phenolic sources. The anthocyanin‐rich extracts showed the highest inhibitory effectiveness towards α‐glucosidase (I₅₀ value equal to ~40 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL ~ half than acarbose). Inhibitory effectiveness towards α‐amylase activity was similar among grape varieties, with I₅₀ values comparable to that of acarbose and correlated with proanthocyanidin contents. These results could pave the way for an efficient processing of grapes, including cascade processes, namely: winemaking, oil extraction from recovered grape seeds and phenolic extraction from defatted grape seeds as potential cost‐effective nutraceuticals.     

Effect of Domestic Processing and Cooking on In Vitro Protein Digestibility of Moth Bean

Protein digestibility (in vitro) of dry seeds of moth bean cultivars varied significantly from 58.69 to 62.06%. The protein digestibility improved significantly when the seeds were given different domestic processing and cooking treatments including soaking, sprouting, ordinary cooking and pressure cooking. Pressure cooking of the seeds presoaked in plain water or mixed mineral salt solution had the most pronounced effect.     

Effect of soaking and hydrothermal processing methods on the levels of antinutrients and in vitro protein digestibility of Bauhinia purpurea L. seeds

The effects of various domestic processing methods such as soaking, cooking and autoclaving on the levels of certain antinutritional factors and in vitro protein digestibility of seeds of Bauhinia purpurea L., an underutilised legume collected from South India, were investigated. The raw seeds were found to contain antinutritional factors like total free phenolics (2.75 g/100 g), tannins (2.35 g/100 g), phytic acid (692 mg/100 g) and flatulence factors, raffinose (0.54 g/100 g), stachyose (1.17 g/100 g) and verbascose (0.95 g/100 g). Soaking the seeds in distilled water caused maximum reduction in the phytic acid content (37%), whereas soaking in NaHCO₃ solution reduced significant levels of phenolics and tannins (72% and 78%, respectively). A reduction in the levels of oligosaccharides (raffinose by 63%, stachyose by 42% and verbascose by 79%) was observed during cooking. Of the attempted treatments, autoclaving appeared to be most effective in reducing levels of all the investigated antinutrients, except phytic acid, and also improved the in vitro protein digestibility of B. purpurea seeds.