Protein from land�legumes and pulses

Abstract

Legumes/pulses, once criticized for long cooking time and presence of antinutrients, are now regarded as superfoods packed with several health-benefitting phytochemicals. The abundance of complex carbohydrates in legumes not only contributes to enhanced satiety, reduced glycemic response and increased fecal bulk but also helps promote probiotics in the human gut, making them an ideal food for individuals with diabetes, obesity and/or constipation. Meanwhile, legume phenolics, inositols, phytosterols, saponins, phospholipids and ?-aminobutyric acid exert antioxidative, cardioprotective, anticancer, antiinflammatory and/or kidney stone/polycystic ovary syndrome prevention properties. Nutritionally, legume proteins contain the majority of essential amino acids (including branched-chain amino acids) and complement cereal-based diets for lysine. They also serve as a source of lectins, enzyme inhibitors, lunasin, defensins and bioactive peptides with nutraceutical properties. In addition, they have also been found promising in enhancing the stability of certain foods by reducing microbial load and/or preventing lipid oxidation. Furthermore, legumes have immense importance as a future protein source. Legume protein production is more eco-friendly than animal protein production and can be helpful in climate change adaptability because (1) it requires much lesser resources (land, water, fuel, etc.) and results in less emissions of greenhouse gases, (2) legumes contribute to soil fertility through carbon sequestration and nitrogen fixation, and (3) they can be cultivated in different types of growing systems under relatively unfavorable environmental conditions. However, limited solubility, poor gel-forming properties, lower digestibility than animal proteins and the presence of undesirable beany odors are major challenges in legume protein utilization. Efforts have been taken to improve digestibility and technofunctionality through the application of enzymes and/or process modification. Novel approaches such as extraction of volatiles using supercritical CO2 technology, chemical modifications of proteins and application of lactic acid bacteria and/or yeast are also being explored for mitigating beany odors in legume proteins. � 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.