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Chickpea has been classified as a nutraceutical food due to its phytochemical compounds, showing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer activity. To investigate this, we evaluated the effect of cooking on the nutritional and non-nutritional composition and the in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity of chickpea seed. The latter was determined by the variation in the concentration of nitric oxide (NO), oxidized carbonyl groups (CO), malondialdehyde (MDA), and the expression of 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HNE) in the colon of male BALB/c mice fed with a standard diet with 10 and 20% cooked chickpea (CC). We induced colon cancer in mice by administering azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium (AOM/DSS); for the evaluation, these were sacrificed 1, 7, and 14 weeks after the induction. Results show that cooking does not significantly modify (p < 0.05) nutritional compounds; however, it decreases the concentration of non-nutritional ones and, consequently, in vitro antioxidant activity. The in vivo evaluation showed that animals administered with AOM/DSS presented higher concentrations of NO, CO, MDA, and 4-HNE than those in animals without AOM/DSS administration. However, in the three evaluated times, these markers were significantly reduced (p < 0.05) with CC consumption. The best effect on the oxidation markers was with the 20% CC diet, demonstrating the antioxidant potential of CC.

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Legumes are plants that produce seeds within a pod, belonging to the Leguminosae family, also called Fabaceae, cultivated for the first time in the Mediterranean region (Luna-Vital & González de Mejía, 2018).Nowadays, the production and consumption of these seeds have increased significantly worldwide due to the higher consumers' awareness of their nutritional and health benefits (Carbas et al., 2020). The most common legume species include soybean (Glycine max), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), peanut (Arachis hypogaea), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), lentil (Lens culinaris), fava bean (Vicia faba), and pea (Pisum sativum) (Luna-Vital & González de Mejía, 2018).Additionally, legumes can be found throughout the world its adaptability to different biotic areas of the planet (savanna, humid and dry forest, Mediterranean and temperate) which presents a great morphological variety; as well as many intrinsic elements (nitrogen fixation, diversity of its reproductive) and extrinsic systems that have been key to its successful evolution (Koenen et al., 2013).Regarding the distribution of its production and consumption in the world, it can be seen below (Siddiq et al., 2022):

Chickpeas are one of the most widely consumed legumes worldwide and they might prevent diseases such as cancer. Therefore, this study evaluates the chemopreventive effect of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) on the evolution of colon carcinogenesis induced with azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in a mice model at 1, 7, and 14 weeks after induction. Accordingly, the expression of biomarkers—such as argyrophilic nucleolar organizing regions (AgNOR), cell proliferation nuclear antigen (PCNA), β-catenin, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)—was assessed in the colon of BALB/c mice fed diets supplemented with 10 and 20% cooked chickpea (CC). The results showed that a 20% CC diet significantly reduced tumors and biomarkers of proliferation and inflammation in AOM/DSS-induced colon cancer mice. Moreover, body weight loss decreased and the disease activity index (DAI) was lower than the positive control. Lastly, tumor reduction was more evident at week 7 in the groups fed a 20% CC diet. In conclusion, both diets (10% and 20% CC) exert a chemopreventive effect.