Physical, chemical and nutritional characteristics of premature-processed and matured green legumes

Premature green legumes are good sources of
nutraceuticals and antioxidants and are consumed as snacks
as well as vegetables. They are seasonal and have limited
shelf-life. Efforts are provided to prepare shelf-stable green
legumes to extend their availability throughout the year.
Green legumes from chick pea or Bengal gram (Cicer
arietinum) and field bean (Dolichos lablab) have been
processed to enhance their shelf-life, and determined their
nutritional, physico-chemical and nutraceutical qualities.
The shelf stable green legumes (SSGL) show higher water
absorption capacity compared to matured dry legumes
(MDL). The total colour change in the processed/dried
SSGL and MDL samples increased significantly (p≤0.05)
compared to the freshly harvested green samples. The
carotenoid content of Bengal gram and field bean SSGLs
are 8.0 and 3.2 mg/100 g, and chlorophyll contents are 12.5
and 0.5 mg/100 g, respectively, which are in negligible
quantities in matured legumes; the corresponding polyphenol
contents are 197.8 and 153.1 mg/100 g. These results
indicate that SSGLs possess potential antioxidant activity.