Composition, Nutritional Value, and Health Benefits of Pulses

Abstract

Cereal Chem. 94(1):11-31The United Nations has declared 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. Pulses are narrowly defined as leguminous crops that are harvested as dry seeds. Although some pulse crops are harvested green (e.g., green peas), these are classified as vegetables because the pods are often consumed along with the mature and sometimes immature seeds.Other dried legumes such as soybean and peanut meet the definition of being a leguminous crop that is harvested as dry seeds; however, these crops are grown primarily for oil content and, thus, are not categorized as pulses. There are hundreds of pulse varieties grown worldwide; these include, for example, dry edible beans, chickpeas, cowpeas, and lentils. This review will cover the proximate (e.g., protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals), and phytonutrient (e.g., polyphenolics and carotenoid) composition of dry edible beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas. Soybean and peanuts will not be covered in this review. The effects of processing on composition will also be covered. The health benefits related to folates, fiber, and polyphenolics will be highlighted. The health benefits discussed will include cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and weight control. The current review will not cover antinutrient compounds; this topic will be covered in a separate review article published in the same issue. † Corresponding

Physicochemical properties of hammer‐milled yellow split pea (Pisum Sativum L.)

“…Lower starch damage in milled field pea than in milled cereal grain is probably due to differences in composition. The total starch content of field pea (30%–49%; Hall et al, ) is lower than total starch contents of most cereals (60%–75%; Delcour & Hoseney, ), while dietary fiber (3%–20%) and protein (14%–31%) are higher in field pea than in cereals (e.g., 2%–3% dietary fiber and 10%–15% protein in wheat; Delcour & Hoseney, ). Therefore, pea starch may be partially shielded during milling by the other seed constituents, resulting in lower starch damage.…”

“…Pulses such as field pea ( Pisum sativum L.) contain several nutrients associated with health benefits, including high protein, low lipid, and high dietary fiber contents, a high amylose‐to‐amylopectin ratio, and high antioxidant content (Dahl, Foster, & Tyler, ; Hall, Hillen, & Garden‐Robinson, ). Blending pulse ingredients into cereal‐based products has the potential to improve nutritional profile.…”

“…The amino acid profiles of pulse and cereal protein can complement each other. For example, wheat is relatively low in lysine and high in sulfur‐containing amino acids (i.e., methionine and cysteine) while pulses are rich in lysine but tend to be low in methionine and cysteine (Hall et al, ).…”

Legume biofortification is an underexploited strategy for combatting hidden hunger

“…For example, Ray et al () observed that when different pulse species were grown in the same location, lentils accumulated higher concentrations of iron, manganese, selenium, and zinc, whereas beans accumulated higher amounts of nickel, magnesium, and copper. Thus, legumes have a range of mineral profiles that could be adjusted to human diets, depending on regional requirements (Hall et al, ; Wang & Daun, ; Wang, Hatcher, Toews, & Gawalko, ; Zia‐Ul‐Haq et al, ). These studies suggest that utilizing diverse legume populations with high concentrations of micronutrients may be an effective strategy to combat hidden hunger.…”

Functional and thermal properties of yellow pea and red lentil extrudates produced by nitrogen gas injection assisted extrusion cooking

“…They generally contain more than twice as much more protein than cereal grains. For example, yellow peas have a protein content of 200–250 g kg −1 and lentils of 220–250 g kg −1 . The dietary fiber content of pulse seeds ranges from 140 to 530 g kg −1 , which is also higher than in cereals.…”