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O feijão caupi (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.), comumente chamado de feijão de corda ou feijão macassar, é um alimento básico para as populações de baixa renda do Nordeste brasileiro. Constitui-se uma das principais culturas alimentares desta região e também do Oeste da África (ONWULIRI; OBU, 2002). Dentre os diferentes produtos agrícolas encontrados nas regiões tropicais, o caupi se destaca pelo alto valor nutritivo, além do baixo custo de produção. É amplamente cultivado pelos pequenos produtores, constituindo um dos principais componentes da dieta alimentar, especialmente na zona rural (EMBRAPA MEIO NORTE, 2003).Em termos mundiais, a área ocupada com feijão caupi é de cerca de 12,5 milhões de ha, com 8 milhões (64% da área mundial) na parte oeste e central da África e o restante nas Américas do Sul e Central, e na Ásia. Os principais produtores mundiais são Nigéria, Niger e Brasil (QUIN, 1997).No Brasil, o feijão caupi é cultivado predominantemente no sertão semi-árido da região Nordeste e em pequenas áreas na Amazônia (MAIA, 1996). No Nordeste, a produção e a produtividade são de 429.375 toneladas e 303,5 kg.ha -1 , respectivamente. Os maiores produtores são os Estados do Ceará, Piauí, Bahia e Maranhão, os quais também apresentam as maiores áreas plantadas (IBGE, 2001). A produção dos grãos, secos ou verdes, é destinada principalmente para o consumo humano in natura, na forma de conserva ou desidratado (EMBRAPA MEIO NORTE, 2003).Esta leguminosa constitui importante fonte de proteínas (23 a 25% em média) e carboidratos, destacando-se pelo alto AbstractCowpea is one of the major food cultures of the northeastern region of Brazil. To improve its resistance against plagues and to increase its productivity, a new cultivar (BRS-Milênio) was obtained by genetic improvement. This study aimed at determining the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, mineral constituents and trypsin inhibitory activity of this cultivar. The seed presents (g.100 g -1 ): 24.5 protein, 51.4 carbohydrates, 16.6 insoluble fiber and 2.7 soluble fiber, 2.6 ash; major mineral constituents (mg.100 g -1 ) were: iron -6.8, zinc -4.1, manganese -1.5, phosphorus -510.0 and potassium -1430.0. Lipid content was 2.2%, and its fatty acids profile: 29.4% saturated and 70.7% unsaturated. The caloric value was estimated as 323.4 kcal.100 g -1 of seeds. A low trypsin inhibitory activity was found (8.0 TIU.mg -1 of sample). The amino acid profile is in accordance with the reference amino acid standard, except for the sulfur amino acid deficiency, suggesting the need to encourage the combination of this bean with other food sources. Results suggest that cowpea presents high contents of energy, protein, dietary fiber, minerals and a low trypsin inhibitory activity. Although it contains low amounts of lipids, its composition presents a high unsaturated fatty acid profile.

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The objective of this study was to identify the major peptides generated by the in vitro hydrolysis of Amaranthus cruentus protein and to verify the effect of these peptides on the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), a key enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis. A protein isolate was prepared, and an enzymatic hydrolysis that simulated the in vivo digestion of the protein was performed. After hydrolysis, the peptide mixture was filtered through a 3 kDa membrane. The peptide profile of this mixture was determined by reversed phase high performance chromatography (RP-HPLC), and the peptide identification was performed by LC-ESI MS/MS. Three major peptides under 3 kDa were detected, corresponding to more than 90% of the peptides of similar size produced by enzymatic hydrolysis. The sequences identified were GGV, IVG or LVG and VGVI or VGVL. These peptides had not yet been described for amaranth protein nor are they present in known sequences of amaranth grain protein, except LVG, which can be found in amaranth α‑amylase. Their ability to inhibit the activity of HMG-CoA reductase was determined, and we found that the sequences GGV, IVG, and VGVL, significantly inhibited this enzyme, suggesting a possible hypocholesterolemic effect.

Flaxseed has been widely studied around the world; its incorporation into products habitually consumed by human populations has been stimulated due to its unique nutritional value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical composition of Brazilian flaxseed, to analyze the stability of lipids present in whole flaxseed flour (WFF) or partially defatted flaxseed flour (DFF) stored under several temperatures, and to investigate the effect of bread making on a product containing flaxseed. Whole flaxseed flour presented (g.100 g-1) 25.7 of insoluble fiber, 10.7 of soluble fiber, 38.9 of lipids, and 2.65 of lignan. Defatted flaxseed flour presented 65% less lipids, 36% more fiber and 56% more lignan than whole flaxseed flour. The fatty acid profile was maintained in the defatted flaxseed flour, and it presented a stable composition during storage under ambient temperature, refrigeration, and freezing. The fatty acid profile was similar in the bread containing defatted flaxseed flour after dough development, baking, and storage at room temperature or refrigerated. After baking, 89% of the lignan content was kept in bread. Results show that Brazilian flaxseed has an interesting chemical composition, and that defatted flaxseed, by-product of lipid extraction, presents a good stability to grind and storage under several temperatures. Thus, defatted flaxseed flour can be incorporated in bread, increasing its nutritional and functional value.

To develop a convenience healthy food snack the partially hydrogenated vegetable fat, used as the flavour fixative agent, was replaced by a non-fat-flavouring solution enriched with inulin and oligofructose. The effects of this replacement on chemical composition, in vitro rate of starch digestion and sensory acceptability were assessed. The new snack presented low-fat levels (0.1%) and around a sevenfold increase in dietary fibre (15.3% of dietary fibre, being 13.3% of fructans) when compared with the traditional ones. The enrichment with fructans reduced the predicted Glycaemic Index by 25%, thus indicating that this dietary fibre contributes effectively towards delaying the in vitro glycaemic response. Fructans-enriched snack presented overall acceptability score (6.6 ± 1.7) similar to the traditional one, flavoured with fatty fixative agent (7.4 ± 1.4). The healthy low-fat fibre-enriched snack produced presented the high sensory acceptability typical for this food product type.

Hamsters were fed for 4 weeks on four different diets: control (C) (balanced diet containing 20 % corn oil as the lipid source), hypercholesterolemic (H) (identical to C but containing 12 % coconut oil, 8 % corn oil and 0.1 % cholesterol as the lipid source), amaranth oil (A) (identical to H without corn oil but with amaranth oil), and squalene (S) (identical to H but admixed with squalene in the ratio found in amaranth oil). There were no significant differences in lipid profile, and in the cholesterol excreted in the animals' feces from amaranth oil (A) and squalene (S) groups. Fecal excretion of bile acids was greater in the amaranth oil (A) and squalene groups (S) as compared to the other groups. The scores of steatosis and parenchymal inflammation observed in the amaranth oil (A) and squalene groups (S) were superior to the ones observed in the other groups. Our findings demonstrated that amaranth oil, and its component squalene, increased the excretion of bile acids but did not have a hypocholesterolemic effect in hamsters fed on a diet containing high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol.