Chemical composition, protein fractionation, essential amino acid potential and antimetabolic constituents of an unconventional legume, Gila bean (Entada phaseoloides Merrill) seed kernel

Abstract

Physical characteristics of pods and seeds, proximate composition, different protein fractionation, SDS-PAGE analysis of proteins, amino acid composition, starch content, fatty acid pro®les and various antimetabolic substances of Gila bean (Entada phaseoloides Merrill) were studied. The pod length and the number of seeds per pod ranged from 55 to 90 cm and from 5 to 11 respectively. The kernel comprised 66.1% of the seed weight (18.41 AE 1.14 g). The seed kernels contained 256.7 g kg À1 crude protein, 108.1 g kg À1 lipid, 27.3 g kg À1 ash and a high content of carbohydrate (585.7 g kg À1 ). The levels of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and iron were similar to those in conventional pulses. Among the different protein fractions of seed kernels, albumins constituted the major storage proteins (69.7%). The kernel proteins were rich in essential amino acids, particularly sulphur-containing amino acids, and their values appeared to be higher than the FAO/WHO (1990) reference protein for a 2±5-year-old growing child and soybean, and comparable to hen egg. Seed kernel lipids contained high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, oleic and linoleic acids, which accounted for 83% of the total fatty acid recovered. The kernel exhibited high trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitor activities (96.65 mg TI g À1 and 30.02 CIU mg À1 sample respectively) in addition to containing phenolics, phytic acid, lectins and oligosaccharides. Another major toxic constituent was identi®ed as a group of triterpenoid saponins (3.21%), which had high haemolytic activity (HeU) against cattle erythrocytes and caused high mortality in ®sh. The in vitro digestibility of the kernel protein was low (67%).

Characterization and Compositional Studies of Oil from Seeds of Desi Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Cultivars Grown in Pakistan

“…The range of AVs (2.55-2.73 mg KOH/g) resemble closely to that reported earlier for chickpea (2.4-2.6 mg KOH/g) seed oil [24] but lower than AVs reported for Phaseolus vulgaris (11.0-19.2 mg KOH/g) seed oil [22]. These relatively lower AVs might render the process of refining a bit easier [25]. The range of SV from 183.98 to 185.64 mg KOH/g indicates the absence of lauric acid in the investigated chickpea seed oils, instead this range is indicative of oils characterized by medium chain-length FAs.…”

Bioactivity of phytochemicals in some lesser-known plants and their effects and potential applications in livestock and aquaculture production systems

“…This explains the use of these seeds as fish poison. The lethal concentration (50%; LC 50 ) of saponins extracted from gila beans for fish was 2.5 mg/100 ml water; whereas at this concentration of quillaja saponins no mortality was observed (Siddhuraju et al, 2001 and. In north-east India, the tribal people soak the seeds and then boil or roast them before eating.…”

Nutritional evaluation of tender pods of Canavalia maritima of coastal sand dunes

“…Although phenolics are known to inhibit digestibility (Siddhuraju et al, 2002), they serve as potential antioxidants (Bhat et al, 2007). Thus, retention of total phenolics in cooked pods is advantageous as antioxidant in the diet.…”