The objective of this project was to determine the effect of various types of processing on selected nutrition related parameters of commonly consumed Indian pulses and soybean. Germination reduced the phytic acid content of chickpea and pigeonpea seeds by over 60%, and that of mung bean, urd bean, and soybean by about 40%. Fermentation reduced phytic acid contents by 26-39% in all these legumes with the exception of pigeonpea in which it was reduced by more than 50%. Autoclaving and roasting were more effective in reducing phytic acid in chickpea and pigeonpea than in urd bean, mung bean, and soybean. Germination and fermentation greatly increased the in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD). IVPD was only slightly increased by roasting and autoclaving of all legumes. Germination and fermentation also remarkably decreased the total dietary fiber (TDF) in all legumes. Autoclaving and roasting resulted in slight increases in TDF values. All the processing treatments had little effect on calcium, magnesium and iron contents.

sin and chymotrypsin inhibitors, levels of polyfihenolic compounds and in vitro protein digestibility of thede two groups of chickpea cultivars and the results are reported;. I MATERIALS&METHODS MaterialsSeed samples of 8 desi (USA-613; 850-3/27; Pant G-114; T-3;"'- ABSTRACTThe levels of trypsin inhibitor activity were higher in both kabuli and desi seeds of chickpea than their chymotrypsin inhibitor activity. Mean values for the trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor units in dhal and seed samples of desi were higher as compared with kabuli cultivars. The presence of seed coat reduced the protein extraction. Mean values of polyphenolic compounds in seed samples of desi were more than twice that of kabuli and these differences disappeared in dhai samples indicating the distribution of these compounds mainly in the seed coat. The in vitro protein digestibility studies showed larger differences between desi seed and dhal samples when compared with kabuli seed and dhal samples. Polyphenolic compounds exhibited a highly significant and negative corretation (r = 0.872**) with in vitro digestibility of protein and a significant positive correlation with trypsin (r = 0.612*) and chymotrypsin (r = 0.507*) inhibitor activities.

Amylase inhibitor activity (AIA) of chickpea extracts was investigated usmg pancreatic and salivary amylases. The extracts showed higher inhibitor activity towards pancreatic amylase than salivary amylase..Mean values indicated slightly higher inhibitory activity in desi than kabuli cultivars, though clear-cut differences were..not observed among-the cultivars. While in vitro starch digestibility of meal samples indicated no large differences among desi and kabuli types of chickpea, the mean values of digestibility of-isolated starches of kabuli -types wasp higher than those -of desi types: The mean values of stachyose were higher in desi cultivars. When desi and kabuli types were considered together, stachyose-and raffmose contents were not found significantly related to the concentrations of total soluble sugars while stachyose showed a significant correlation with raftinose.~ -iNTRODUCTlON ALTHOUGH NUTRITIONAL significance of cY-amylase inhibitors-of cereal grains has been studied (Granum and Eskeland, -198 I), amylase inhibitors of grain legumes have not received much attention. The growth inhibiting properties .of raw beans have been reported to be due .to the presence of heat labile factor which inhibited the in vitro. activity of pancreatic amylase (Jaffe and Vega, -1968). A large variation in the inhibitor activity of pancreatic amylase among the several species of food legumes. has been reported (Jaffe et al., 1973).The food legumes-.are also regarded as notorious inducers of -flatulence when they are consumed in large quantity. It has been reported that the two oligosaccharides, raffinose and stachyose, are the causative factors for flatulence and uncomfortable feeling often experienced upon ingestion of soybean products (Steggerda and Rackis,. 1967). In particular; the hydrogen component of intestinal gas is. formed by the fermentation of low molecular weight galac-.

irnporlant grain lcgurrrc,s fi~r the rnil1rc~r1.s qfpeople in semi-arid arid tropical regron.s yf many Asian and ,.ifrican c,ountrics. ?'heso li:yu~r!c.s are used in various,fi)od,forms aftc~r suitahl~ pro-ccJssrng dcpc,nding on the rcyions rlfth~ir production and a)nsutnption. Such aspcJcts as production and consumption, proc'c,ssing and ,food uscs, chmtnic.al cornposition, and (rffects of procc~ssing on the nutritive vuluc, c?f (h<~.se Icgurnc,~ arc the important toprcr qfthis paper. Ib enhance their utilrzation, neN8 potential and divcrsific~d/ood usev haw hcen highlrghtod. Future rescwrch ncwh and priority aroas arcJ listrd to itnprovr their utili=ation und nutritional quality.

Protease inhibitors, amylase inhibitors, phytolectins, polyphenols, and oligosaccarides are important antinutritional factors of chickpea and pigeonpea. Research on these factors is reviewed and compared to those in other grain legumes. Both chickpea and pigeonpea are consumed in various forms as processed food. The effects of such processing practices as cooking, germination, and fermentation to reduce the levels of these antinutritional factors are also discussed.

Several genotypes, number given within parenthesis, of chickpea, pigeonpea, urd bean, mung bean and soybean, differing in seed characteristics were analyzed for phytic acid, in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD), protein, total phosphorus, and seed size. Phytic acid contents and IVPD values differed significantly among and within these species. Phytic acid content (mg/g) was the highest in soybean (36.4) followed by urd bean (13.7), pigeonpea (12.7), mung bean (12.0) and chickpea (9.6). On an average, phytic acid constituted 78.2 percent of the total phosphorus content and this percentage figure was the highest in soybean and the lowest in mung bean. In vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of pigeonpea and chickpea genotypes varied from 60.4 to 74.4 percent and 65.3 to 79.4 percent, respectively. The IVPD values of genotypes of mung bean, urd bean and soybean ranged from 67.2 to 72.2 percent, 55.7 to 63.3 percent and 62.7 to 71.6 percent, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between phytic acid and IVPD of these genotypes. Phytic acid was significantly and positively correlated with protein but the magnitude of correlation was very low in chickpea and pigeonpea. Results indicate that the genotypes of pulses with low phytic acid content could be identified and used in breeding program to improve their nutritive value and utilization.

Eight newly developed and two commonly grown chickpea (Cicer arietinumL

Peanut has traditionally been used as a source of oil; however, its worldwide annual protein harvest has reached nearly 4.5 million tons. India followed by China and the United States are the major producers of peanut. In recent years, several cereals and legumes-based foods using peanuts as protein supplements have been developed to alleviate protein calories-malnutrition problem. Peanut in the form of flour, protein isolates, and meal in a mixed product have been found to be very desirable from a sensory quality point of view. Peanut protein is deficient with respect to certain essential amino acids, but its true digestibility is comparable with that of animal protein. Even though various processing methods influence the nutritional and sensory quality of peanut fortified human foods available information on these aspects have been reviewed and summarised in this paper in order to optimize the utilization of peanut protein to increase protein value of cereal-based foods in developing countries of the peanut growing regions of the world.