Nutritional, functional, and bioactive properties of african underutilized legumes

Abstract

Globally, legumes are vital constituents of diet and perform critical roles in maintaining well-being owing to the dense nutritional contents and functional properties of their seeds. While much emphasis has been placed on the major grain legumes over the years, the neglected and underutilized legumes (NULs) are gaining significant recognition as probable crops to alleviate malnutrition and give a boost to food security in Africa. Consumption of these underutilized legumes has been associated with several health-promoting benefits and can be utilized as functional foods due to their rich dietary fibers, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), proteins/essential amino acids, micro-nutrients, and bioactive compounds. Despite the plethora of nutritional benefits, the underutilized legumes have not received much research attention compared to common mainstream grain legumes, thus hindering their adoption and utilization. Consequently, research efforts geared toward improvement, utilization, and incorporation into mainstream agriculture in Africa are more convincing than ever. This work reviews some selected NULs of Africa (Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis), African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa), Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), Jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis), Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), Lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), Marama bean (Tylosema esculentum), Mung bean, (Vigna radiata), Rice bean (Vigna Umbellata), and Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus)), and their nutritional, and functional properties. Furthermore, we highlight the prospects and current challenges associated with the utilization of the NULs and discusses the strategies to facilitate their exploitation as not only sources of vital nutrients, but also their integration for the development of cheap and accessible functional foods.

Application of legumes in the formulation of gluten-free foods: functional, nutritional and nutraceutical importance

“…Aside from protein, they also provide substantial amounts of minerals, vitamins, dietary fibre, and carbohydrates, such as starch (Maphosa and Jideani, 2017;Barman et al, 2018;Clemente and Jimenez-Lopez, 2020). Legumes have albumins as a minor protein component and globulin as their main storage protein, but do not contain gluten (Popoola et al, 2023). Their protein content and amino acid profile are largely determined by the environment, commercial class/cultivator, and the use of fertilizer (Singh, 2017).…”

“…Legumes also provide considerable amounts of B-complex vitamins, such as thiamin, riboflavin, and folate (Table 2), but are relatively low in vitamin C and fat-soluble vitamins (Maphosa and Jideani, 2017). In addition, legumes are low in fat and do not contain cholesterols (Maphosa and Jideani, 2017;Popoola et al, 2023). The total lipid contents of legumes vary based on location, soil type, variety, field production conditions, and origin (Tiwari and Singh, 2012).…”

“…The overall nutritional value of legumes has attracted an increasing interest globally due to the increasing demand for healthy food (Popoola et al, 2023). Thus, they are a suitable option to replace animal protein, addressing environmental and consumers' healthrelated concerns (Siddiq et al, 2022;.…”

Non-starch polysaccharides from kidney beans: comprehensive insight into their extraction, structure and physicochemical and nutritional properties

“…In addition, the extraction yield and structural properties of kidney bean NSPs differ among cultivars, which may guide the development of plant-based novel functional components. However, review articles on kidney beans in recent years mainly focused on the following aspects: (1) nutritional and functional properties of kidney beans together with other legumes from the regions of India, 29 Mexico, 30 Europe, 31 and Africa; 32 (2) food processing technologies; 33–36 (3) potential strategies to improve metabolic health with a white kidney bean extract, 10 prevent cardiovascular diseases with kidney bean bioactive compounds, 37 inhibit noncommunicable chronic diseases, 38 and alleviate diabetes and obesity with kidney bean α-amylase inhibitors. 39 To the best of our knowledge, there is no report, to date, comprehensively reviewing kidney bean NSPs, including their extraction, structural characterization, biological function, and interaction with other nutrients.…”

Consumption patterns and usage of selected underutilized legumes in a Ghanaian community

“…They may serve as a source of income in the areas where they are cultivated as well as source of better nutrition. The major legumes found in Sub-Saharan Africa include common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), and Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) (Abate et al, 2012;Boafo et al, 2016;Popoola et al, 2023;Snapp et al, 2018).…”