Legumes are a good source of bioactive components, besides being nutrient dense. These components have antioxidant properties and have a protective role against free radicals. Legumes like cowpeas are usually consumed after certain processing, so the present study was intended to assess antioxidant property of selected four cultivars of cowpea after going through various thermal (autoclaving, microwave, boiling, and roasting) and non-thermal (soaking and fermentation) processings. Thermal processing reduced total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) in all cultivars with respect to antioxidant activity of raw cultivars, while DPPH scavenging activity increased after all thermal treatments excluding few thermal processings. Non-thermal processing revealed increase in TPC, DPPH scavenging activity, and FRAP values, while TFC content showed a decreasing trend. A moderately high correlation between TPC and DPPH scavenging activity was observed in both kinds of thermal treatments indicating the role of phenolic compounds for antioxidant activity. It was concluded from the study that fermentation processing has promising effects on retention and enhancement of antioxidant activity of cowpea cultivars. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Jackfruit is a lesser‐known and underutilized crop with the potential to be used as human food. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ripening stages on the physicochemical, carbohydrate content, and antioxidant properties of jackfruit seed flour using multivariate data analysis. Maturity of fruit decreases protein (18.56% to 12.15%) and ash content (3.80% to 2.63%), while dietary fiber, starch, and functional properties increase with maturity. Jackfruit seed flour contains inositol, sorbitol, glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, and raffinose and among them, glucose, fructose, raffinose, etc. increased with progression in maturity except for sucrose and maltose. The principal component analysis was done in four cultivars and their maturity stages in various aspects like physicochemical, functional properties, and antioxidant activities to investigate the similarities and differences among cultivars and maturity stages. Results of the present study showed that flour can be useful for the production of value‐added food products. Practical applications The present study also reveals that jackfruit seed flour has great potential in new food formulation along with wheat flour. The utilization of the jackfruit seeds for the production of flour could provide extra income and, at the same time, help to minimize waste disposal problems. The high water absorption and swelling capacity suggest that jackfruit seed flour (JSF) could be useful in food systems where swelling and high consistency is required, for example, it could be used for the value addition of bakery and confectionery products with improved nutritional and sensorial quality.

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) seeds are a byproduct of processing while they have an appreciable amount of starch. The current study is based on the isolation and characterization of starches from these seeds to check the suitability in terms of functional, structural, and pasting properties for determining its vital utilization. Therefore, five jackfruit cultivars (Hadiyava, Khaja, Safeda, Katahri, and Bhadaiya) are selected for the study. The amylose content, granule size, pasting properties, and relative crystallinity significantly (p < 0.05) vary in all selected five cultivars. With the lowest amylose values, Safeda cultivar starch reports higher absorption of oil and water (190.30% and 226.68%, respectively), solubility, swelling power, peak, trough, and final viscosity compared to the other starches. X-ray diffraction results show that all five starches show a typical A-type (15°, 17°-18°, and 23°) pattern. The first principal component (40.98%) is highly correlated with starch amylopectin content, physical properties, peak temperature, and swelling power.