Pulses or legumes
Peas and Beans
Fabaceae
• Second most important family for humans
• A combination of grain and pulses is seen
in major civilization
– Barley and lentils; rice and soybeans; corn
and beans
• Fabaceae is diverse and has about 16,000
species
• Common features are the flowers and
fruits (a legume)
Fabaceae
• Three subfamilies
– Faboideae – main source of pulses (Dried
seeds)
– Caesalpinoidae – tamarind and carob
• Plants have root nodules
– increases the nutrients of the soil
– More protein in the fruits
– Non-protein amino acids (some toxic)
– Good rotation crop
Nutrients
• Protein: CHO: fat: fiber are 20:70:8:4
percent.
• Protein: lack Met and cysteine and some
sulfur containing amino acids
• CHO: raffinose and stachyose series.
Hard to digest, flactulence. Alpha –
galactosidase from Aspergillas.
• Fat has unsaturated fatty acids; hihgest in
peanuts
Nutrients
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Non-protein amino acids
Some have anti-nutritional factor
Protease inhibitor
Isoflavone
Dissolve fiber
Lentils
• Lens culinaris –Shape of eye lens. 25%
proteins, 60% CHO, less than 1% fat vit A
&B abd calcium
• Middle East between 8000-9000years ago
• Domesticated
• Has most digestible and most commonly
eaten pulse
Peas
• Pisum sativum
• Near East and Europe, 8000 – 9500 years
old but not sure whether grow or gathered.
• Brought ot New world by Columbus
• Eaten fresh
• Chinese snow peas has low fiber and
selected 17th century
• Sugar snap peas – recent 1979
Broad beans
• Vicia faba: mainly hog feed
• Middle East origin
• Favism: hemolytic anemia; due to
defective gene; glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase; due to vicine that oxidizes
and degrades RBC
Chickpeas
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Cicer arietinum: forage has toxic proteins
Near Eastern
Do not like cool climates
Quality and easily digestible proteins
Soy beans
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Glycine max: Native of China
High is proteins sulfur containing ones
Isoflavones: genestine; daizein
Phytosterols
Antivitamins; protease inhibitors;
cyanogens; saponins
Pigean peas
• Cajanus cajan
Black-eye peas
• Vigna unguiculata
Lima beans
• Phaseolus lunatas/limensis
• Lima; kidney or garden beans(P.vulgaris);
green or mung beans(P. aureus);
blackgram (P.mungo)
Peanuts
• Arachis hypogea: pedicles enter the
ground for fruit to mature
• Unique flowering and fruiting
• 45% oils; 20-25% proteins;
• South America – origin
• Mainly used as roasted seeds; peanut
butter and oil
Tamarind and carob
• Tamarindus indica
• Ceratonina siliqua