Pulse Foods

Processing, Quality and Nutraceutical Applications

Brijesh K. Tiwari, Aoife Gowen, Brian McKenna

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9780123820198
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Pulses are nutritionally diverse crops that can be successfully utilized as a food ingredient or a base for new product development. They provide a natural food grade ingredient that is rich in lysine, dietary fiber, complex carbohydrates, protein and B-vitamins suggesting that pulses can provide a variety of health benefits such as reducing heart disease and diabetes. Interest in the use of pulses and their ingredients in food formulations is growing and several factors are contributing to this drive. Pulse Foods: Processing, Quality and Nutraceutical Applications is the first book to provide up-to-date information on novel and emerging technologies for the processing of whole pulses, techniques for fractionating pulses into ingredients, their functional and nutritional properties, as well as their potential applications, so that the food industry can use this knowledge to incorporate pulses into new food products. - First reference bringing together essential information on the processing technology of pulses - Addresses processing challenges relevant to legume and pulse grain processors - Delivers insights into the current state-of-art and emerging processing technologies - In depth coverage of developments in nutraceutical applications of pulse protein and carbohydrate based foods

1. Introduction

Brijesh K. Tiwari¹, Aoife Gowen² and Brian McKenna²

¹Department of Food and Tourism, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

²UCD School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

1.1. Pulses: what are they?

First cultivated by humans over 3000 years ago, the family Leguminosae consists of 650 genera and more than 18000 species. Members of the family, often referred to as legumes or pulses, are the second most important food source in the world after cereal grains. Food legumes are those species of the plant family Leguminosae that are consumed by human beings or domestic animals commonly as dry matter seeds, i.e. the grain legumes. The terms “legumes” and “pulses” are used interchangeably because all pulses are considered legumes but not all legumes are considered pulses. The Codex Alimentarius Commission defines pulses as “dry seeds of leguminous plants which are distinguished from leguminous oil seeds by their low fat content”. The term “pulse”, as used by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is exclusively for crops harvested solely for the dry seed of leguminous plants. This also excludes green beans and green peas which are consumed and considered as vegetables. A few oil-bearing seeds like groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) and soybean (Glycine max) are also excluded from pulses which are grown primarily for edible oil extraction. More than 80 different pulse species are consumed by humans, including beans, lentils, lupins, peas and peanuts. However, the FAO recognizes 11 primary pulses as listed in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 Commonly consumed pulses

Pulse class	Common/local names	Botanical name
1. Dry beans		Phaseolus spp., Vigna spp.
	Kidney bean, haricot bean, pinto bean, navy bean	Phaseolus vulgaris
	Lima bean, butter bean	Phaseolus lunatus
	Azuki bean, adzuki bean	Vigna angularis
	Mung bean, golden gram, green gram	Vigna radiata
	Black gram, urad	Vigna mungo
	Scarlet runner bean	Phaseolus coccineus
	Ricebean	Vigna umbellata
	Moth bean	Vigna acontifolia
	Tepary bean	Phaseolus acutifolius
2. Dry broad beans		Vicia faba
	Horse bean	Vicia faba equina
	Broad bean	Vicia faba
	Field bean	Vicia faba
3. Dry peas		Pisum spp.
	Garden pea	Pisum sativum var. sativum
	Protein pea	Pisum sativum var. arvense
4. Chickpea	Garbanzo, Bengal gram	Cicer arietinum
5. Dry cowpea	Black-eyed pea, black-eye bean	Vigna unguiculata
6. Pigeon pea	Arhar/Toor, cajan pea, Congo bean	Cajanus cajan
7. Lentil		Lens culinaris
8. Bambara groundnut	Earth pea	Vigna subterranea
9. Vetch	Common vetch	Vicia sativa
10. Lupins		Lupinus spp.
11. Minor pulses
	Lablab, hyacinth bean	Lablab purpureus
	Jack bean	Canavalia ensiformis
	Sword bean	Canavalia gladiata
	Winged bean	Psophocarpus teragonolobus
	Velvet bean, cowitch	Mucuna pruriens var. utilis
	Yam bean	Pachyrrizus erosus

Grain legumes or pulses are important foodstuffs in tropical and subtropical countries, where they are second in importance only to cereals as a source of protein. In addition to their value as a foodstuff, the food legumes are important in cropping systems because of their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and increase the overall fertility of soil, reducing the need for expensive nitrogenous fertilizers. The dominant food legumes of any region may vary from country to country or even from region to region, but most of them can be grown under a reasonably wide range of ecological conditions and many legumes can be grown reasonably well on poor soils even without the application of fertilizers.

Pulses are regarded as a beneficial source of nutrients and are recommended as a staple food by health organizations and dieticians. They are rich sources of vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates in the human diet. They represent an important source of protein for vegetarians and are a low glycemic index food (Rizkalla et al., 2002). Pulses are also recognized as a food choice with significant potential health benefits. Pulses contain complex carbohydrates (dietary fibers, resistant starch and oligosaccharides), protein with a good amino acid profile (high lysine), important vitamins and minerals (B vitamins, folates and iron) as well as antioxidants and polyphenols.

1.2. Pulse processing and utilization

Grain processing, including cereal and pulse processing, is one of the oldest and most important of all food technologies and forms a large and important part of the food production chain. Grain pulses are grown widely throughout the world and their dietary and economic importance is globally appreciated and recognized. Today, the grain processing industry is as diverse as its range of products. Practically every meal produced contains grains in some form, while the range of non-food applications is increasing daily, all of which presents enormous processing challenges to food manufacturers.

Pulses undergo several primary and secondary processes such as dehulling, puffing, grinding and splitting prior to their consumption. The primary processing methods vary from country to country. Unlike cereals, processing of pulses also varies with cultivar. The oldest and most common home-scale technique for hulling grain legumes is to pound them in a mortar with a pes...

Table of contents

• Cover Image
• Table of Contents
• Front Matter
• Copyright
• List of contributors
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Chemistry of pulses
• 3. Functional and physicochemical properties of pulse proteins
• 4. Functional and physicochemical properties of pulse starch
• 5. Functional and physicochemical properties of legume fibers
• 6. Functional and physicochemical properties of non-starch polysaccharides
• 7. Post-harvest technology of pulses
• 8. Pulse milling technologies
• 9. Emerging technologies for pulse processing
• 10. Pulse-based food products
• 11. Novel food and industrial applications of pulse flours and fractions
• 12. By-product utilization
• 13. The nutritional value of whole pulses and pulse fractions
• 14. Role of pulses in nutraceuticals
• 15. Quality standards and evaluation of pulses
• 16. Global pulse industry
• Index
• Food Science and Technology International Series