Purpose -African yam bean (Sphenotylis stenocarpa), bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranean), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and lima bean (Phaseolus luunatus) are some of the minor grain legumes found in Nigeria. Their utilization has been very limiting because little is known about their nutritive value. The proximate, minerals and antinutritional factors of two collections of African yam bean, lima beans and pigeon pea, and one collection of bambara groundnut seeds grown in south-western Nigeria were studied. Design/methodology/approach -Dry seeds of two collections of African yam bean, pigeon pea and lima beans, and a collection of bambara groundnut were collected from Oyo and Ondo States in south-western Nigeria. The legumes were sorted, milled and stored in polythene bags at 4˚C. Findings -The crude protein in the legumes was in the range of 22-37 per cent, crude fat 1.47-4.96 per cent, crude fibre 1.92-7.21 per cent and ash 3.33-5.61 per cent. K, Ca and P were in the range of 0.15-0.52 per cent. Iron content of the seeds was very low. The antinutrients, tannin, phytic acid and trypsin inhibitor were very high when compared to those of cowpea, groundnut and soybean. Originality/value -It therefore implies that consumption of these legumes will require processes that will reduce their antinutritional factors.

The proximate and selected functional properties of five flours from yam bean (YB) made after the grains were not processed (raw) and processed as boiled, fermented, roasted and malted, were determined. The functional properties were water and fat absorption, gelation, emulsification and whippability. An improvement was observed for protein content of flours processed beans compared to raw flour. Fermentation improved the oil content of the flour. The emulsifying and foaming capacities (50.7 and 40.20%, respectively) observed for raw flour were significantly higher than those for the flours from processed bean. Gelation was significantly (P < 0.05) increased and decreased by fermentation and malting of the bean, respectively. The water absorption capacities ranged from 131.9% in raw flour to 218.8% in flour boiled beans. There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences in the fat absorption capacities of all flours except for the one of fermented beans (0.40 mL/g), which was significantly lower than the value (0.73 mL/g) obtained for the flour from boiled beans. Although a high foaming capacity was observed for raw flour, it was less stable when compared with that of the processed bean flours. Overall, YB flour was found to exhibit good functional properties, and has a great potential for use as an ingredient in selected food systems.

Seeds of 20 African yam bean collections were evaluated for nutritive and anti‐nutritive contents. Anti‐nutrients were negatively correlated with protein and carbohydrate contents. Principal component analysis and the Fastclus procedure showed that collections with high anti‐nutrient contents had darker seed colour. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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