Chemical analysis and physico-chemical properties of chickpea and lentil cultivars

Unlocking the nutritional potential of chickpea: strategies for biofortification and enhanced multinutrient quality

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a vital grain legume, offering an excellent balance of protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, essential micronutrients, and vitamins that can contribute to addressing the global population's increasing food and nutritional demands. Chickpea protein offers a balanced source of amino acids with high bioavailability. Moreover, due to its balanced nutrients and affordable price, chickpea is an excellent alternative to animal protein, offering a formidable tool for combating hidden hunger and malnutrition, particularly prevalent in low-income countries. This review examines chickpea's nutritional profile, encompassing protein, amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, micronutrients, vitamins, antioxidant properties, and bioactive compounds of significance in health and pharmaceutical domains. Emphasis is placed on incorporating chickpeas into diets for their myriad health benefits and nutritional richness, aimed at enhancing human protein and micronutrient nutrition. We discuss advances in plant breeding and genomics that have facilitated the discovery of diverse genotypes and key genomic variants/regions/quantitative trait loci contributing to enhanced macro- and micronutrient contents and other quality parameters. Furthermore, we explore the potential of innovative breeding tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 in enhancing chickpea's nutritional profile. Envisioning chickpea as a nutritionally smart crop, we endeavor to safeguard food security, combat hunger and malnutrition, and promote dietary diversity within sustainable agrifood systems.

A Study of Physical, Chemical, and Sensory Characteristics of Novel Legume Dips

There is a consensus among experts and consumers that pulses are a good source of nutrients and fiber. In a traditional hummus recipe, chickpeas are the major ingredient. The present study is aimed at developing new legume dips by exchanging chickpeas (Chd) with dry green (Gld) and red lentils (Rld), dry white beans (Wbd), and dry green peas (Gpd). Presoaking, boiling, proximate composition, pH, energy, color measurement, and sensory evaluation were conducted on the dips using chickpea dip (hummus) as a control. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the differences between the dips. The results revealed significant differences in the proximate composition of legume dips. The protein content of the five samples ranged between 7.46% and 9.19%, while the values varied from 8.59% to 10.93% in fat, 3.88% to 6.54% in crude fiber, 14.48% to 15.51% in carbohydrates, 171.95 to 195.13 in energy, 1.55% to 1.76% in ash, and 63.35% to 66.90% in moisture. These variations could be attributed to the type and composition of each legume, the soaking and boiling process, and the tahini added during the preparation. pH ranged between 4.5 and 4.7. The color measurement indicated that the five legume dips could be considered bright products (high L∗>67), with a positive color valuebluered-green and yellow-. Significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed in the legume dips sensory evaluation, and the red lentil dip was the most acceptable with results comparable to the chickpea dip; it was followed by the green lentil, white bean, and green pea dips. These results highlight the feasibility of commercial production of legume dip that promotes human health and gives consumers more choices.

Feeding Value of Lupins, Field Peas, Faba Beans and Chickpeas for Poultry: An Overview

Grain legumes are fair sources of protein, amino acids and energy, and can be used as a replacement for soybean meal in poultry feed formulations as the soybean meal becomes short in supply and costly. However, a concern associated with the use of grain legumes in poultry feeding is the presence of antinutritional factors. The effective processing and utilisation of these grain legumes in poultry feeding are well documented. The current review focuses on four selected grain legumes (lupins [Lupinus albus and Lupinus angustifolius], field peas [Phaseolus vulgaris], faba beans [Vicia faba] and chickpeas [Cicer arietinum]) and their nutrient content, the presence of antinutritional factors, processing methods and feeding value, including updated data based on recent research findings.

How Cooking Time Affects In Vitro Starch and Protein Digestibility of Whole Cooked Lentil Seeds versus Isolated Cotyledon Cells

Lentils are sustainable sources of bioencapsulated macronutrients, meaning physical barriers hinder the permeation of digestive enzymes into cotyledon cells, slowing down macronutrient digestion. While lentils are typically consumed as cooked seeds, insights into the effect of cooking time on microstructural and related digestive properties are lacking. Therefore, the effect of cooking time (15, 30, or 60 min) on in vitro amylolysis and proteolysis kinetics of lentil seeds (CL) and an important microstructural fraction, i.e., cotyledon cells isolated thereof (ICC), were studied. For ICC, cooking time had no significant effect on amylolysis kinetics, while small but significant differences in proteolysis were observed (p < 0.05). In contrast, cooking time importantly affected the microstructure obtained upon the mechanical disintegration of whole lentils, resulting in significantly different digestion kinetics. Upon long cooking times (60 min), digestion kinetics approached those of ICC since mechanical disintegration yielded a high fraction of individual cotyledon cells (67 g/100 g dry matter). However, cooked lentils with a short cooking time (15 min) showed significantly slower amylolysis with a lower final extent (~30%), due to the presence of more cell clusters upon disintegration. In conclusion, cooking time can be used to obtain distinct microstructures and digestive functionalities with perspectives for household and industrial preparation.

Mining legume germplasm for genetic gains: An Indian perspective

Legumes play a significant role in food and nutritional security and contribute to environmental sustainability. Although legumes are highly beneficial crops, it has not yet been possible to enhance their yield and production to a satisfactory level. Amid a rising population and low yield levels, per capita average legume consumption in India has fallen by 71% over the last 50 years, and this has led to protein-related malnutrition in a large segment of the Indian population, especially women and children. Several factors have hindered attempts to achieve yield enhancement in grain legumes, including biotic and abiotic pressures, a lack of good ideotypes, less amenability to mechanization, poorer responsiveness to fertilizer input, and a poor genetic base. Therefore, there is a need to mine the approximately 0.4 million ex situ collections of legumes that are being conserved in gene banks globally for identification of ideal donors for various traits. The Indian National Gene Bank conserves over 63,000 accessions of legumes belonging to 61 species. Recent initiatives have been undertaken in consortia mode with the aim of unlocking the genetic potential of ex situ collections and conducting large-scale germplasm characterization and evaluation analyses. We assume that large-scale phenotyping integrated with omics-based science will aid the identification of target traits and their use to enhance genetic gains. Additionally, in cases where the genetic base of major legumes is narrow, wild relatives have been evaluated, and these are being exploited through pre-breeding. Thus far, >200 accessions of various legumes have been registered as unique donors for various traits of interest.

Modeling the Effects of Seed Maturity on Cooking Time of 'Dimitra' Lentils

The lentil is a valuable crop for human nutrition and is cooked to adequate softening prior to consumption. The objective of the study was to use a model to point out the effects of seed maturity on optimum cooking time (OCT). Two lentil seed samples (cv 'Dimitra') exhibiting short (SCT) and long (LCT) cooking times (CT) were visually separated into brown- and green-colored categories, corresponding to mature and immature seeds, respectively. The 1000-seed mass and the percentages of maturity categories were measured in samples before they were subjected to 20-60 min CT. Absolute positive force (APF)-based texture analysis parameters were monitored during CT. OCT thresholds were established by correlating the organoleptic with the texture analyzer parameters. The averaging and weighted averaging of the texture analysis parameters, or even their modeling, failed to produce a realistic OCT due to texture values exceeding the OCT threshold. However, the modeling of the percentage of cooked seeds during CT predicted a realistic OCT, which was also validated later. In this model, all seeds (overcooked or intact, mature or immature) were taken into account. Among the texture parameters, APF better described cooking. Mature seeds softened faster and produced more overcooked seeds than did the immature seeds. The different proportions of maturity categories within the SCT and LCT seeds greatly affected the sample OCT.

Preparation of rutin-loaded microparticles by debranched lentil starch-based wall materials: Structure, morphology and in vitro release behavior

Different treatments of autoclaving, pullulanase debranching and/or ultrasound were applied to prepare debranched lentil starch (DBLS). Their fine structures can affect the retrogradation patterns of DBLSs, which consequently could affect their potential use as delivery carrier of sensitive bioactive compounds. An attempt was made to use these DBLSs as wall materials to encapsulate rutin, aiming to improve the bioaccessibility, meanwhile to enhance the aqueous solubility and stability of rutin molecules. Their encapsulation efficiency, structural characteristics, thermal stability, morphological features, antioxidant activity and in vitro release behavior under simulated upper gastrointestinal tract environment were evaluated. The results suggested that rutin was dispersed in the DBLS polymer matrix, showing the amorphous nature that further authenticates the encapsulation and entrapment of rutin. The structural analyses of microparticles revealed that rutin could interacted with DBLS biopolymer chains by hydrogen bonds, making the starch molecular chains less susceptible to interact with themselves for reordering. The encapsulation efficiency was found to be in an opposite trend with those values obtained for relative crystallinity, melting enthalpy, degree of order/double helices of DBLS wall materials before encapsulation. The release rate results indicated that DBLS carrier with lower M_w, DP_n and higher molecular order was beneficial for the slower release of rutin encapsulated in the microparticles.

Red Lentil (Lens culinaris) Extract as a Novel Natural Coagulant for Turbidity Reduction: An Evaluation, Characterization and Performance Optimization Study

Increasing awareness on the detrimental effects of inorganic chemical coagulants and sustainable treatment have paved the way to develop environmentally-benign natural coagulants for water and wastewater treatment. In this research, brown, green, and red lentil (Lens culinaris) extracts have been evaluated as a natural coagulant for the turbidity reduction. The physicochemical characteristics properties of lentil extract were evaluated through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), zeta potential analysis, and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Red lentil extract was found to be an anionic polymer with hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups. The effects of three major operating parameters, pH, the concentration of coagulant, and settling time, were studied and optimized through response surface methodology (RSM) using the Box–Behnken Design (BBD). The red lentil extract as coagulant was outperformed alum in acidic wastewater treatment, which achieved up to 98.87% turbidity removal with an optimum concentration of 26.3 mg/L in 3 min. Besides, the red lentil extract as coagulant reduced 29.42% of material cost, generated 15.6% lower amount of sludge and produced flocs with better settling characteristic (SVI: 7.39) as compared to alum. Based on the experimental observation and characterization study, absorption and bridging mechanisms were proposed for red lentil extract as the coagulant in turbidity reduction.

Cooked Red Lentils Dose-Dependently Modulate the Colonic Microenvironment in Healthy C57Bl/6 Male Mice

Dietary pulses, including lentils, are protein-rich plant foods that are enriched in intestinal health-promoting bioactives, such as non-digestible carbohydrates and phenolic compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of diets supplemented with cooked red lentils on the colonic microenvironment (microbiota composition and activity and epithelial barrier integrity and function). C57Bl/6 male mice were fed one of five diets: a control basal diet (BD), a BD-supplemented diet with 5, 10 or 20% cooked red lentils (by weight), or a BD-supplemented diet with 0.7% pectin (equivalent soluble fiber level as found in the 20% lentil diet). Red lentil supplementation resulted in increased: (1) fecal microbiota α-diversity; (2) abundance of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria (e.g., Prevotella, Roseburia and Dorea spp.); (3) concentrations of fecal SCFAs; (4) mRNA expression of SCFA receptors (G-protein-coupled receptors (GPR 41 and 43) and tight/adherens junction proteins (Zona Occulden-1 (ZO-1), Claudin-2, E-cadherin). Overall, 20% lentil had the greatest impact on colon health outcomes, which were in part explained by a change in the soluble and insoluble fiber profile of the diet. These results support recent public health recommendations to increase consumption of plant-based protein foods for improved health, in particular intestinal health.

Influence of Harvest Aid Herbicides on Seed Germination, Seedling Vigor and Milling Quality Traits of Red Lentil (Lens culinaris L.)

Most red lentil produced worldwide is consumed in dehulled form, and post-harvest milling and splitting qualities are major concerns in the secondary processing industry. Lentil producers in northern temperate regions usually apply pre-harvest desiccants as harvest aids to accelerate the lentil crop drying process and facilitate harvesting operations. This paper reports on field studies conducted at Scott and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada in the 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons to evaluate whether herbicides applied as harvest aids alone or tank mixed with glyphosate affect seed germination, seedling vigor, milling, and splitting qualities. The site-year by desiccant treatment interaction for seed germination, vigor, and milling recovery yields was significant. Glyphosate applied alone or as tank mix with other herbicides (except diquat) reduced seed germination and seedling vigor at Saskatoon and Scott in 2012 only. Pyraflufen-ethyl (20 g ai ha-1) applied with glyphosate as well as saflufenacil (36 g ai ha-1) decreased dehulling efficiency, while saflufenacil and/or glufosinate with glyphosate reduced milling recovery and football recovery, although these effects were inconsistent. Application of diquat alone or in combination with glyphosate exhibited more consistent dehulling efficiency gains and increases in milling recovery yield. Significant but negative associations were observed between glyphosate residue in seeds and seed germination (r = -0.84, p < 0.001), seed vigor (r = -0.62, p < 0.001), dehulling efficiency (r = -0.55, p < 0.001), and milling recovery (r = -0.62, p < 0.001). These results indicate application of diquat alone or in combination with glyphosate may be a preferred option for lentil growers to improve milling recovery yield.

Phenological, nutritional and molecular diversity assessment among 35 introduced lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) genotypes grown in Saudi Arabia

Morphological, nutritional and molecular analyses were carried out to assess genetic diversity among 35 introduced lentil genotypes (Lens culinaris Medik.). The genotypes exhibited significant differences for their field parameters and some of them showed noticeable superiority. The nutritional and proximate analysis showed that some genotypes were excellent sources of proteins, essential amino acids, minerals, anti-oxidants, total phenolic contents (TPC) and total flavonoid contents (TFC) and hence, highlights lentil nutritional and medicinal potential. Sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) and amplified fragments length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to estimate the genetic variability at the molecular level. The existence of a considerable amount of genetic diversity among the tested lentil genotypes was also proven at the molecular level. A total of 2894 polymorphic SRAP and 1625 AFLP loci were successfully amplified using six SRAP and four AFLP primer pair combinations. Polymorphism information content (PIC) values for SRAP and AFLP markers were higher than 0.8, indicating the power and higher resolution of those marker systems in detecting molecular diversity. UPGMA (unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average) cluster analysis based on molecular data revealed large number of sub clusters among genotypes, indicating high diversity levels. The data presented here showed that FLIP2009-64L and FLIP2009-69L could be used as a significant source of yield, total protein, essential amino acids, and antioxidant properties. The results suggest potential lentil cultivation in the central region of Saudi Arabia for its nutritional and medicinal properties, as well as sustainable soil fertility crop.

Physicochemical and functional characteristics of lentil starch

The physicochemical properties of lentil starch were measured and linked up with its functional properties and compared with those of corn and potato starches. The amylose content of lentil starch was the highest among these starches. The crystallinity and gelatinization enthalpy of lentil starch were the lowest among these starches. The high amylose: amylopectin ratio in lentil starch resulted into low crystallinity and gelatinization enthalpy. Gelatinization and pasting temperatures of lentil starch were in between those of corn and potato starches. Lentil starch gels showed the highest storage modulus, gel strength and pasting viscosity than corn and potato starch gels. Peleg's model was able to predict the stress relaxation data of these starches well (R(2)>0.98). The elastic modulus of lentil starch gel was less frequency dependent and higher in magnitude at high temperature (60 °C) than at lower temperature (10 °C). Lentil starch is suitable where higher gel strengthened pasting viscosity are desired.

Influence of dehydration process in Castellano chickpea: changes in bioactive carbohydrates and functional properties

Changes in bioactive carbohydrates, functional, and microstructural characteristics that occurred in chickpea under soaking, cooking, and industrial dehydration processing were evaluated. Raw chickpea exhibited important levels of raffinose family of oligosaccharides (RFOs), resistant starch (RS) and total dietary fibre (TDF), being insoluble dietary fibre (IDF) the main fraction (94%). The dehydration process increased RFOs (43%), RS (47%) and soluble dietary fiber (SDF) (59%) levels significantly. In addition, a noticeable increase in both fibre fractions was observed, being higher in soluble fibre in (SDF) (59%). The minimum nitrogen solubility of raw flours was at pH 4, and a high degree of protein insolubilization (80%) was observed in dehydrated flours. The raw and processed flours exhibited low oil-holding capacities (1.10 mg/ml), and did not show any change by thermal processing, whereas water-holding capacities rose to 5.50 mg/ml of sample. Cooking and industrial dehydration process reduced emulsifying activity and foaming capacity of chickpea flour. The microstructural observations were consistent with the chemical results. Thus, the significant occurrence of these bioactive carbohydrate compounds along with the interesting functional properties of the dehydrated flours could be considered useful as functional ingredients for food formulation.

Evaluation of phenolic profile and antioxidant properties of Pardina lentil as affected by industrial dehydration

This study presents the effects of soaking, cooking, and industrial dehydration treatments on phenolic profile and also on antioxidant properties in Pardina lentil. HPLC-PAC and HPLC-MS (ESI) analysis identified a total of 35 phenolic compounds in raw and processed lentil flours, corresponding to catechins and procyanidins (69% of the total of identified phenolic compounds), flavonols (17%), flavones, and flavanones (5%), and hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic compounds (5 and 4%, respectively). During the industrial process, catechins and procyanidins, flavonols, flavones, and flavanones decreased, while hydroxybenzoic compounds exhibited an important increase. In addition, raw lentils showed high values of the antioxidant activity (66.97 μmol Trolox/g); although the thermal processing promotes decreased, the levels of antioxidant activity were still relevant. Thus, the significant occurrence of bioactive phenolic compounds along with the interesting antioxidant capacity of dehydrated lentil flours make them useful for daily inclusion in the human diet as ready-to-use for special meals to specific populations.

Starch, functional properties, and microstructural characteristics in chickpea and lentil as affected by thermal processing

Changes in starch, functional, and microstructural characteristics that occurred in chickpea and lentil under soaking, cooking, and industrial dehydration processing were evaluated. Available starch in raw legumes represented 57-64%, and resistant starch (RS) is a significant component. As a result of cooking, available starch contents of soaked chickpea and lentil were significantly increased (21 and 12%, respectively) and RS decreased (65 and 49%, respectively) compared to raw flours. A similar trend was exhibited by dehydration, being more relevant in lentil (73% of RS decrease). The minimum nitrogen solubility of raw flours was at pH 3, and a high degree of protein insolubilization (80%) was observed in dehydrated flours. The raw legume flours exhibited low oil-holding capacities, 0.95-1.10 mL/g, and did not show any change by thermal processing, whereas water-holding capacities rose to 4.80-4.90 mL/g of sample. Emulsifying activity and foam capacity exhibited reductions as a result of cooking and industrial dehydration processing. The microstructural observations were consistent with the chemical results. Thus, the obtained cooked and dehydrated legume flours could be considered as functional ingredients for food formulation.

Physico-chemical characteristics, water absorption, soaking and cooking properties of some Sicilian populations of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

The physical and physico-chemical properties of several Kabuli chickpeas originating from Sicily (South Italy) were determined. Twelve genotypes in all, including two controls (ILC484, of the ICARDA genebank, and 'Calia', a traditional Italian cultivar), were analysed. A large variability among genotypes was ascertained for swelling capacity (coefficient of variation [CV] = 27.9%), swelling index (CV = 30.5%) and calcium content (CV = 39.3%). The lowest variability was observed for seed coat (CV = 8.6%) and seed weight (CV = 9.6%). Genotype statistically affected all traits, whose mean values were: seed weight, 0.340 +/- 0.03 g; seed coat, 4.47 +/- 0.38%; seed volume, 0.292 +/- 0.04 ml; seed density, 1.18 +/- 0.15 g/ml; hydration capacity, 0.361 +/- 0.09 g/seed; hydration index, 1.05 +/- 0.21; swelling capacity, 0.346 +/- 0.10 ml/seed; swelling index, 1.21 +/- 0.37; cooking texture, 2.61 +/- 0.38 kg/cm(2); and calcium, 109.6 +/- 43.11 mg/100 g dry weight. Correlation coefficients among characteristics were also estimated. The genotype '44M33' was found to be interesting having good seed weight and low seed coat incidence and calcium content, all important attributes affecting cooking quality.

Physico-chemical and nutritional properties of cereal-pulse blends for bread making

Supplementation of soy (full fat and defatted) and barley flours to wheat flour at 51 10, 15 and 20% levels were carried out to see their effect on physico-chemical and nutritional properties of blends for bread making. The gluten content and sedimentation value of flour blends decreased and water absorption capacity increased with increase in the level of soybean and barley flour separately and in combinations to bread flour. All the blends at 20% levels were found nutritionally superior but breads prepared from them found organoleptically unacceptable. However, addition of 15% barley flour, 10% full fat soy flour, 10% defatted soy flour, 15% full fat soy flour + barley flour and 15% defatted soy flour + barley flour to wheat flour not only increased the total protein, glutelin (protein fraction), total lysine, dietary fibre and beta-glucan contents of cereal-pulse blends for bread making, but could also produce a product of acceptable quality.