Chickpea is one of the oldest and widest cultivated pulses in the world on the basis of total grain production, after soybean, peanut, bean and pea. Its seeds are a good source of proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fiber, as well as of vitamins (mainly those of B-group) and mineral elements such as K, Zn, Ca and Mg. One of the main drawbacks that limit the domestic use of chickpea and other grain legumes, is the long cooking time required. Cooking time is a heritable characteristic for many pulses that is influenced by environmental conditions during seed development, seed composition and seed storage duration and conditions, and it differs widely among genotypes. Seed coat permeability, seed hardness and water absorption are, in fact, strongly affected by both environmental and genetic factors and their interactions.The aim of this study was to assess the effects of cooking upon proximate composition in three Sicilian chickpeas (‘12 CL”, ‘Etna’ and ‘Calia’). Genotypes were grown in a hilly site of inland Sicily (South Italy) and the same agronomic techniques were adopted in the field in order to obtain homogeneous material for assessment in the laboratory. Samples of harvested seeds were cooked in distilled water for two hours, in order to reach an adequate softening level in all chickpeas, according to their size. Raw and cooked seeds were analyzed for moisture, nitrogen, starch, ash, fat, tannins, crude fiber, magnesium, calcium and iron content, following the official methods AOAC. In addition, the caloric value was calculated using the Atwater factor method and the cooking water was analyzed for conductivity. When compared to raw seeds, the ash, tannins, starch, magnesium and calcium contents of chickpeas significantly decreased after cooking. The tannins content decreased dramatically 20 g 100 g-1 due to the thermal treatment of seeds as cooked. Cooking decreased the starch content from 46.2 g 100 g-1 to 31.7 g 100 g-1. In opposite, a significant increase in the level of crude protein, crude fiber and lipids occurred in all genotypes. Protein value was 24.5 g 100 g-1 for raw grains and 27.1 g 100 g-1 for cooked grains, without any significant difference among genotypes. This result highlights the great protein retention after cooking in all genotypes tested. Both the caloric value (393 kcal 100 g-1 d.w., on average) and the conductivity of cooking water (ranged between 3.5 and 4.1 mS/cm) did not vary in relation to genotypes. Among genotypes, cooked seeds of ‘Calia’ showed the highest losses of tannins (97%, on average), whilst seeds of ‘Etna’ accounted for the highest minerals retention (Fe and Ca, in particular) after cooking process.

Effect of water cooking on proximate composition of grain in three Sicilian chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.)

BARBAGALLO, Riccardo Nunzio
2012-01-01

Abstract

Chickpea is one of the oldest and widest cultivated pulses in the world on the basis of total grain production, after soybean, peanut, bean and pea. Its seeds are a good source of proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fiber, as well as of vitamins (mainly those of B-group) and mineral elements such as K, Zn, Ca and Mg. One of the main drawbacks that limit the domestic use of chickpea and other grain legumes, is the long cooking time required. Cooking time is a heritable characteristic for many pulses that is influenced by environmental conditions during seed development, seed composition and seed storage duration and conditions, and it differs widely among genotypes. Seed coat permeability, seed hardness and water absorption are, in fact, strongly affected by both environmental and genetic factors and their interactions.The aim of this study was to assess the effects of cooking upon proximate composition in three Sicilian chickpeas (‘12 CL”, ‘Etna’ and ‘Calia’). Genotypes were grown in a hilly site of inland Sicily (South Italy) and the same agronomic techniques were adopted in the field in order to obtain homogeneous material for assessment in the laboratory. Samples of harvested seeds were cooked in distilled water for two hours, in order to reach an adequate softening level in all chickpeas, according to their size. Raw and cooked seeds were analyzed for moisture, nitrogen, starch, ash, fat, tannins, crude fiber, magnesium, calcium and iron content, following the official methods AOAC. In addition, the caloric value was calculated using the Atwater factor method and the cooking water was analyzed for conductivity. When compared to raw seeds, the ash, tannins, starch, magnesium and calcium contents of chickpeas significantly decreased after cooking. The tannins content decreased dramatically 20 g 100 g-1 due to the thermal treatment of seeds as cooked. Cooking decreased the starch content from 46.2 g 100 g-1 to 31.7 g 100 g-1. In opposite, a significant increase in the level of crude protein, crude fiber and lipids occurred in all genotypes. Protein value was 24.5 g 100 g-1 for raw grains and 27.1 g 100 g-1 for cooked grains, without any significant difference among genotypes. This result highlights the great protein retention after cooking in all genotypes tested. Both the caloric value (393 kcal 100 g-1 d.w., on average) and the conductivity of cooking water (ranged between 3.5 and 4.1 mS/cm) did not vary in relation to genotypes. Among genotypes, cooked seeds of ‘Calia’ showed the highest losses of tannins (97%, on average), whilst seeds of ‘Etna’ accounted for the highest minerals retention (Fe and Ca, in particular) after cooking process.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/12488
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