Influence of the processing method on the antinutritional content and functional properties of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) flour.

FARA, A.; SÁEZ, G.D.; ZÁRATE G.

Tucumán

Congreso; Congreso Conjunto SAIB SAMIGE 2021; 2021

SAIB-SAMIGE

The development of novel functional foods is a major challenge for the food industry due to growing consumer?s demand of healthy products. Legumes, such as chickpea, represent an attractive alternative for these food formulations due to their nutritional value and gluten free nature. However, legumes derived flours require complementary processing for reducing their antinutritional content (ANF) and the increasing of bioactive compounds and technological quality. The aim of this work was to assess the effect of different processing methods on the concentration of ANF, bioactive compounds and technological properties of chickpea flour. For this purpose, kabuli chickpeas produced in the Northwestern region of Argentina were subjected to soaking, cooking, microwaving, germination or a controlled fermentation with a co-culture of selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB): Lactiplantibacillus plantarum CRL 2211 and Weissella paramesenteroides CRL 2182. After processing, the grains were milled to obtain flours and their ANF concentrations: trypsin and α-chymotrypsin inhibitors, α-amylase inhibitors and tannins were determined by spectrophotometric methods. Bioactive compounds like total polyphenols and their antioxidant activity were assessed by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and DPPH radical scavenging activity, respectively, whereas the amino acid profile was determined by HPLC. As technological parameters, the water and oil retention capacity, gelation and emulsification of each flour were evaluated. Regarding the removal of ANF, traditional cooking was the most efficient treatment for the elimination of protease and α-amylases inhibitors leading to minimal concentrations, whereas biological methods such as fermentation and germination removed 65% and 50%, respectively. However, fermentation produced a decrease of tannins content greater than 80% (4.29±0.0 to 0.85±0.3 mg EAG/100g,) whereas the other treatments did not produce significant changes. Regarding the incidence of treatments on bioactive compounds, fermentation and germination increased the concentration of phenolic compounds from 647±26 to 1017±50 and 929±53 mg EAG/100g respectively, and enhanced the antioxidant activity from 50% in untreated flours to 82% in fermented flours and 72% in germinated flours. Free amino acid contents were also increased after fermentation, being Glu, Arg, Tyr and Lys the predominant. Finally, traditional cooking and microwave treatments decreased the water and oil retention capacity of flours, whereas soaking and biological treatments increase the oil retention capacity. Fermentation was also better than the other treatments for improving gels and emulsions formation. Our research demonstrates that fermentation of chickpea flours with selected LAB is an efficient strategy for the removal of ANF, the increase of bioactive compounds and the improvement of technological properties relevant for the formulation of functional foods.