Dietary fiber profile of food legumes.

摘要

The dietary fibre profile of seven legume seeds (dehulled), namely chickpea, cowpea, field bean, guar, lentil, green pea and pigeon pea, was determined using various enzymatic methods. The total dietary fibre (TDF) content varied from 11.5% in lentil to 33.2% in guar. Guar was also found to be the richest source of soluble dietary fibre (SDF). Analysis of the water insoluble to soluble fibre ratio showed that all legumes contained higher proportion of insoluble than soluble fibre. The major fibre constituents in all legumes were cellulose and hemicellulose, while pectin and lignin were observed as minor components. Guar seeds contained the highest amount of cellulose (12.5%), pectin (3.0%) and lignin (2.0%). Chickpea was found to be the best source of hemicellulose. As guar, chickpea and field bean contained more soluble fibre than the other legume species, they should be more frequently used in food menus.