Nutritional quality of some improved cultivars of cowpea

Abstract

The seeds of 13 improved cowpea cultivars were analysed for proximate composition, methionine, tryptophan and polyphenols. Considerable genetic variations were observed for the contents of protein, nonprotein nitrogen, limiting amino acids and polyphenols. The globulins contributed about 50% of the total seed proteins. A significant proportion of proteins of high protein cultivars was found to be insoluble. The proteins of most of the cultivars were found deficient in methionine and tryptophan. Methionine and tryptophan levels were negatively correlated with protein and positively correlated with carbohydrate contents. The cultivars with colored seed coats contained higher amounts of polyphenols. The difference in polyphenol content between various cultivars were due to seed coat polyphenols.

Nutrients, technological properties and genetic relationships among twenty cowpea landraces cultivated in West Africa

“…Kachare et al . () observed the same pattern for Indian cowpea varieties. They proved that the difference in TPC content between unpigmented and pigmented landraces arose from the substantial quantity of phenolics in the seed coats of pigmented landraces; about 50% of TPC of pigmented landraces comes from seed coats against less that 20% for unpigmented landraces.…”

Evaluating the freezing impact on the proximate composition of immature cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) pods: classical versus spectroscopic approaches

“…Moreover, the limited data available in the literature concerning the nutritional composition of cowpea pods are referred to the contents of two varieties grown under different farming systems in South Africa, which displayed protein values ranging between 179.0 and 251.0 g kg −1 DW . Hence, even though the protein content observed in the present work was quite similar to the concentration found for cowpea seeds in other previous studies (174.0–303.0 g kg −1 DW), the values presently retrieved for the pods still surpassed those previously reported, reinforcing the relevance of the season, agro‐environmental conditions and cultivar on protein content …”

The Effect of pH on Foaming Properties of Cowpea (Vigna ungiculata L.walp) Flour and Protein Isolates

“…It provides more than half the plant protein in human diets for the poorest sector of many developing countries. It is an important source of protein in developing countries, especially in West Africa where it is eaten in a variety of ways [4]. Okaka and Potter, [5] showed that a blend of 90% wheat flour with 10% drum dried cowpea powder produced excellent quality yeast bread.…”