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Post Harvest Technology :: Agriculture :: Pulses
COMPOSITION :
Green gram, red gram, bengal gram, horse gram, cluster bean, field bean, cow pea are some of the common types of pulses.In general, their protein content is high and is commonly more than twice that of cereal grains, usually constituting about 20 per cent of the dry weight of seeds. The protein content of some legumes like soyabean is as high as 40 per cent.

NUTRITIVE VALUE OF PULSES

  Energy
Kcals
Moisture
g
Protein
g
Fat
g
Mineral
g
Carbohydrates  g Fibre
g
Calcium
mg
Phosphorus
mg
Iron
mg
Bengal gram, whole 360 10 17 5 3 4 4 202 312 5
Bengal gram, dhal 372 10 21 6 3 1 1 56 331 5
Bengal gram, roasted 369 11 22 5 2 1 1 58 340 9
Black gram, dhal 347 11 24 1 3 1 1 154 385 4
Cow pea 323 13 24 1 3 3 4 77 414 9
Field bean, dry 347 10 25 1 3 1 1 60 433 3
Green gram, whole 334 10 24 1 3 4 4 124 326 4
Green gram dhal 348 10 24 1 3 1 1 75 405 4
Horse gram, whole 321 12 22 0 3 5 5 287 311 7
 Kherasi dhal 345 10 28 1 2 57 2 90 317 6
Lentil 343 12 25 1 2 59 1 69 293 7
Moth beans 330 11 24 1 3 56 4 202 230 9
Peas green 93 73 7 0 1 16 4 20 139 1
Peas dry 315 16 20 1 2 56 4 75 298 7
Peas roasted 340 10 23 1 2 59 4 81 345 6
Rajmah 346 12 23 1 3 61       5     260 410 5
Redgram, dhal 335 13 22 2 3 58 1 73 304 3
Redgram tender 116 65 10 1 1 17 6 57 164 1
Soyabean 432 8 43 19 4 21 4 240 690 10

Pulse seeds are also sources of other nutritionally important materials, such as vitamins and minerals.

Carbohydrates: Food pulses contain about 55-60 per cent of total carbohydrates including starch, soluble sugars, fibre and unavailable carbohydrates.

Minerals: Pulses are importantly sources of calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus.

Vitamins: Pulses contain small amounts of carotene, the provitamin A.

TOXIC CONSTITUENTS OF PULSES : The seeds of pulses include both edible and inedible types. Even amongst the edible legumes toxic principles occur and their elimination is important in order to exploit them for edible purposes. Two thermoliable factors are implicated in toxic effects. Inhibitors of the enzymes trypsin, chymotrypsin and amylase haemagglutinins, which impede the absorption of the products of digestion in the gut. In addition, legumes also contain a goitrogen, a toxic saponin, cyanogenic glycosides and alkaloids.

Elimination of Toxic Factors :  It has already been indicated that soaking, heating and fermentation can reduce or eliminate most of the toxic factors of the pulses. Correct application of heat in cooking pulses can eliminate most toxic factors without impairment of nutritional value. Cooking also contributes towards pulse digestibility. Heat causes the denaturation of the proteins responsible for trypsin inhibition, haemagglutination and the enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of cyanogenic glycosides. The mode of application of heat is important. Autoclaving and soaking followed by heating are effective. Another way of eliminating toxic factors is by fermentation, which yields products more digestible and of higher nutritive value than the raw pulses.

 
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