The effect of various processing methods on antinutrients and in
vitro protein and starch digestibility
of Phaseolus
angularis and Phaseolus
calcaratus seeds was studied. The processes, which
included
soaking (12 and 18 h), cooking, autoclaving, and germination (24 and 48
h), significantly reduced
(p < 0.05) the levels of antinutrients including phytates,
tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and amylase
inhibitors and significantly improved (p < 0.05) the
digestibility of protein and starch as well. Since
a significant negative correlation (ranging from −0.80 to −1.00)
was found between these
antinutrients and the digestibility of both protein and starch, the
reduction in the levels of these
antinutrients might partly account for the improved digestibility.
Cooking as well as autoclaving
brought about a more significant (p < 0.05) improvement in
the digestibility of both protein and
starch as compared with soaking and germination. In this study,
all processing methods were more
effective in improving the starch digestibility than the protein
digestibility.
Keywords: Phaseolus angularis; Phaseolus calcaratus; processing;
antinutrients; protein; starch;
digestibility