A growing interest in pulse proteins in recent years
results from
their crucial role in the transition toward sustainable food systems.
Consequently, current research is mainly focused on the production
of protein ingredients and the evaluation of their nutritional and
techno-functional properties for the development of animal product
analogues. However, the individual impacts of the major proteins 11S
legumin and 7S vicilin on pulse techno-functionalities remains unclear.
Thus, this review aims to represent current knowledge on pulse 11S
and 7S globulin origins, extraction, separation, and purification
methods as well as their techno-functionalities. This paper also discusses
the principal challenges related to pulse vicilin and legumin purification
methods, such as efficiency and environmental concerns, as well as
11S/7S ratio variability. This review highlights the fact that 11S
and 7S fractions serve different purposes in pulse functionality and
that more efficient and eco-friendly purification techniques are required
to properly assess their respective functional attributes. Such research
would allow the determination of optimal 11S/7S ratios for the integration
of pulse protein ingredients in various food formulations. Hence,
food industries would be able to select species/varieties, agronomical
methods, and processing methods to produce ingredients with suitable
11S/7S ratios, catering to consumers’ ethical, environmental,
and nutritional concerns.