Physicochemical Properties and Effect of Processing Methods on Mineral Composition and Antinutritional Factors of Improved Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Varieties Grown in Ethiopia

Hindawi International Journal of Food Science Volume 2019, Article ID 9614570, 7 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9614570 Research Article Physicochemical Properties and Effect of Processing Methods on Mineral Composition and Antinutritional Factors of Improved Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Varieties Grown in Ethiopia Ebisa Olika ,1 Solomon Abera,2 and Asnake Fikre3 1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Wollega University, Shambu Campus, P.O. Box 38, Shambu, Ethiopia Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science, Postharvest Technology and Process Engineering, Haramaya University, P.O. Box 138, Haramaya, Ethiopia 3 Chickpea Regional Breeder International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropic, P.O. Box 5689, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2 Correspondence should be addressed to Ebisa Olika; Received 17 April 2018; Revised 7 March 2019; Accepted 5 May 2019; Published 2 June 2019 Academic Editor: Amy Simonne Copyright © 2019 Ebisa Olika et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop grown and consumed all over the world because it is a good source of carbohydrates and protein. However, presence of antinutritional components restricts its use by interfering with digestion of macronutrients during consumption. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate physicochemical properties and effect of processing methods on antinutritional factors and mineral composition of improved chickpea varieties (Natoli of Desi and Arerti of Kabuli) grown in Ethiopia. The experiment was factorial with complete randomized design. The result indicated that physicochemical properties such as seed mass, seed density, hydration capacity, swelling capacity, unhydrated seeds, and cooking time of Arerti and Natoli chickpeas had 260.69 and 280.65 g/1000 seeds, 3.48 and 3.61g/ml, 1.07 and 1.03 g/g, 2.12 and 1.94ml/g, 1.64 and 14.75%, and 21.00 and 246.33 min, respectively. After processing, Zn, Fe, and Ca contents of improved chickpea varieties had 4.48 to 5.85mg/kg, 8.52 to 10.17mg/kg, and 536.56 to 1035mg/kg, respectively. The antinutritional factors, tannin and phytic acid, in the raw chickpeas were reduced to 25 to 82.25% and 5.89 to 57.35%, respectively. The results of the current study showed that Arerti of Kabuli variety showed low antinutritional factors and better physicochemical properties, specifically low cooking time, than Natoli of Desi variety. All processing methods were effective in reduction of antinutritional factors; however, boiling was found to be the best for reduction of antinutritional factors. 1. Introduction Legumes are important sources of protein in the diets of millions of people in the world [1]. Among the different legumes, chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is categorized in Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family, one of the oldest and most widely consumed legumes in the world, and it is a staple food crop particularly in tropical and subtropical areas [2]. A large number of grown chickpea cultivars have various physical, hydrating, cooking, and parching characteristics [3]. According to the color of seed and geographic distribution, chickpea is grouped into two biotypes: Desi (Indian origin) and Kabuli (Mediterranean and Middle Eastern origin); while Kabuli cultivars have large seeds with white to cream colored seed coat, Desi cultivars have small and wrinkled seeds with brown, black, or green color [4]. Chickpea is a good and cheap source of protein for people in developing countries (especially in South Asia), who are largely vegetarian either by choice or because of economic reasons. In addition, chickpea was reported as important means of controlling bronchitis, cholera, and constipation and acids in chickpea seed are supposed to lower the blood cholesterol levels. Also, regular pulse consumption such as chickpeas prevents diabetes and reduces risks of heart disease [5]. Ethiopia is one of the major producers of chickpea and ranked sixth worldwide in 2016 and serves as a multipurpose 2 crop [6]. In Ethiopia, the use of chickpea grains for human food has long history and they are used in different forms as green vegetable (green immature seed), “Kolo” (soaked and roasted), “nifro” (boiled seeds), and “wot” (sauces) made up of “shiro” (powdered seeds) or blended with cereals and/or legumes for preparing of infant and young children foods using traditional food processing techniques like soaking, germination, fermentation, boiling, and roasting. For preparation of infant and young children at certain community, bioavailability of macro- and micronutrients like protein, Fe, and Zn is critical beside sensory acceptability, cost for purchasing, and processing and preparing using local food items [7]. However, presence of antinutritional components restricts its use by interfering with digestion of carbohydrates and proteins. They also interfere with growth, reproduction, or health and reduce protein and carbohydrate utilization when consumed regularly even in normal amounts. Some of these factors include trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, tannins, saponin, and haemagglutinin activity which can cause adverse physiological responses or diminish the availability of certain nutrients [8, 9]. Chickpea is known with having phytate and tannin which will bind with minerals like Fe, Zn, and protein, respectively. Subsequently, it will decrease the bioavailability and digestibility unless appropriate and affordable processing techniques are implemented, and such antinutritional problems can be reduced by processing techniques such as dehulling, soaking, boiling, germinating, and roasting [9, 10]. The consumption of processed chickpea provides consumers with valuable nutrition and potential health benefits [11]. The materials selected for this study were improved varieties of Natoli and Arerti with superior performance at national and regional level in terms of production and productivity and adaptation to both biotic stress (disease, insect, and weed) and abiotic stress (particularly terminal drought) and widely adapted by farmers [12]. Their physicochemical properties of raw improved chickpea seed varieties and effect of processing methods on mineral composition and antinutritional factors of improved chickpea varieties (Natoli of Desi and Arerti of Kabuli) grown in Ethiopia have not been analyzed yet. Therefore, the present study was designed to fill this gap. Hence, the objective of this study was to investigate physicochemical properties and the effect of selected processing methods on mineral composition and antinutritional factors of improved chickpea varieties. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Materials. Six kilograms of each Natoli of Desi and Arerti of Kabuli chickpeas was collected from Debrezeit Agricultural (...truncated)