Effect of Processing on the In Vitro and In Vivo Protein Quality of Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris and Vicia Faba)

Whole faba bean flour exhibits unique expansion characteristics relative to the whole flours of lima, pinto, and red kidney beans during extrusion

Determining the impacts of extrusion conditions on extrudate characteristics of whole beans flours is critical to find the suitable types of beans to use for making direct expanded products. Whole bean flours of four different bean types, faba, lima, pinto, and red kidney, were extruded. The influence of barrel temperature (120, 140, and 160 °C), moisture content (17%, 21%, and 25%), and screw speed (150, 200, and 250 rpm) on process and product responses was studied with a corotating twin screw extruder. The barrel temperature, moisture content, screw speed, and variety of bean had significant influence on process and product responses, back pressure (MPa), torque (N·m), specific mechanical energy (kJ/kg), expansion ratio, water absorption index (g/g), and water solubility index (%) (P < 0.05). Faba bean extrudates had a significantly higher expansion ratio compared to other beans (lima, pinto, and red kidney beans) even though faba bean contained significantly higher protein and higher crude fiber contents (P < 0.05). PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The outputs of this research will be helpful to the food industry in the production of high nutrient-dense food products from whole beans by maintaining the expansion and texture of the products. The data should assist to choose the suitable types of whole bean flours and the optimum processing conditions for making direct expanded extruded products.

Food processing for the improvement of plant proteins digestibility

Proteins are essential macronutrients for the human diet. They are the primary source of nitrogen and are fundamental for body structure and functions. The plant protein quality (PPQ) refers to the bioavailability, digestibility, and amino acid composition. The digestibility specifies the protein quantity absorbed by an organism relative to the consumed amount and depends on the protein structure, previous processing, and the presence of compounds limiting the digestion. The latter are so-called antinutritional factors (ANF), exemplified by phytates, tannins, trypsin inhibitors, and lectins. Animal proteins are known to have better digestibility than plant proteins due to the presence of ANF in plants. Thus, the inactivation of ANF throughout food processing may increase the PPQ. New food processing, aiming to increase the digestibility of plant proteins, and new sources of proteins are being studied for the animal protein substitution. Here, it is presented the impact of processing on the protein digestibility and reduction of ANF. Several techniques, such as cooking, autoclaving, germination, microwave, irradiation, spray- and freeze-drying, fermentation, and extrusion enhanced the PPQ. The emerging non-thermal technologies impact on protein functionalities but require studies on the protein digestibility. How to accurately determine and how to improve the protein digestibility of a plant source remains a scientific and technological challenge that may be addressed by novel or combining existing processing techniques, as well as by exploring protein-enriched by-products of the food industry.

Effect of barrel temperature and feed moisture on protein quality in pre-cooked Kabuli chickpea, sorghum, and maize flours

The effect of barrel temperature (120 and 150 ℃, held constant in zones 4-6) and feed moisture (20 and 24%) on the protein quality of Kabuli chickpea, sorghum, and maize flours were examined, which included amino acid profile, in vitro protein digestibility and in vitro protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (IV-PDCAAS). It was found that the limiting amino acid of chickpea changed from threonine to valine after extrusion, whereas both sorghum and maize were limiting in lysine before and after extrusion. The in vitro protein digestibility increased from 77 to 81% for chickpea and 73 to 76% for maize; values for sorghum remained at 74% after extrusion. However, the IV-PDCAAS for the extruded flours generally remained at the same level, 69% for chickpea, 22% for sorghum, and ∼35% for maize. The effect of extrusion temperature, moisture and their interaction was significant on protein quality of sorghum and maize, but in the case of chickpea, only the extrusion temperature was significant. Only chickpea extruded at 150 ℃ (regardless of the moisture) met the protein quality (PDCAAS > 70%) requirement to be used in food assistance products.

Single Varietal Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Pastas: Nutritional Profile and Consumer Acceptability

Dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are a nutrient dense food rich in protein, dietary fiber, minerals, and folate. Consumption of dry beans is relatively low in the United States and this may be due in part to the lack of diversity in bean products beyond whole seeds. Products that incorporate beans in new forms, such as flours, offer the potential to increase dry bean utilization. In this study whole dry beans were milled into flour and used to make gluten free fresh pastas. Six bean varieties each from a different market class (white kidney, navy, otebo, cranberry, dark red kidney and black) were made into pasta. Their consumer appeal was compared to fresh wheat pasta and their nutritional value was compared to fresh wheat pasta and whole boiled beans. The dry bean pastas were nutritionally superior to wheat pasta with higher protein, ash, resistant starch and protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) as well as lower total starch content. While consumers preferred the flavor, texture and appearance of the wheat pasta to the dry bean pasta, 36% of participants said they would definitely or probably purchase the dry bean pastas from the light colored beans. There was some loss of nutritional value of bean pasta vs. whole boiled beans but this can mostly be attributed to the bean pasta being 90% bean. These results suggest that single variety fresh dry bean pastas have commercial potential in the U.S. as healthy gluten free pasta options.

Dietary Protein Quantity, Quality, and Exercise Are Key to Healthy Living: A Muscle-Centric Perspective Across the Lifespan

A healthy eating pattern, regardless of age, should consist of ingesting high quality protein preferably in adequate amounts across all meals throughout the day. Of particular relevance to overall health is the growth, development, and maintenance of skeletal muscle tissue. Skeletal muscle not only contributes to physical strength and performance, but also contributes to efficient macronutrient utilization and storage. Achieving an optimal amount of muscle mass begins early in life with transitions to "steady-state" maintenance as an adult, and then safeguarding against ultimate decline of muscle mass with age, all of which are influenced by physical activity and dietary (e.g., protein) factors. Current protein recommendations, as defined by recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for the US population or the population reference intakes (PRI) in Europe, are set to cover basic needs; however, it is thought that a higher protein intake might be necessary for optimizing muscle mass, especially for adults and individuals with an active lifestyle. It is necessary to balance the accurate assessment of protein quality (e.g., digestible indispensable amino acid score; DIAAS) with methods that provide a physiological correlate (e.g., established measures of protein synthesis, substrate oxidation, lean mass retention, or accrual, etc.) in order to accurately define protein requirements for these physiological outcomes. Moreover, current recommendations need to shift from single nutrient guidelines to whole food based guidelines in order to practically acknowledge food matrix interactions and other required nutrients for potentially optimizing the health effects of food. The aim of this paper is to discuss protein quality and amount that should be consumed with consideration to the presence of non-protein constituents within a food matrix and potential interactions with physical activity to maximize muscle mass throughout life.

Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Content of Legumes: Characterization of Pulses Frequently Consumed in France and Effect of the Cooking Method

Pulses display nutritional benefits and are recommended in sustainable diets. Indeed, they are rich in proteins and fibers, and can contain variable amounts of micronutrients. However, pulses also contain bioactive compounds such as phytates, saponins, or polyphenols/tannins that can exhibit ambivalent nutritional properties depending on their amount in the diet. We characterized the nutritional composition and bioactive compound content of five types of prepared pulses frequently consumed in France (kidney beans, white beans, chickpeas, brown and green lentils, flageolets), and specifically compared the effects of household cooking vs. canning on the composition of pulses that can be consumed one way or the other. The contents in macro-, micronutrients, and bioactive compounds highly varied from one pulse to another (i.e., 6.9 to 9.7 g/100 g of cooked product for proteins, 4.6 to 818.9 µg/100 g for lutein or 15.0 to 284.3 mg/100 g for polyphenols). The preparation method was a key factor governing pulse final nutritional composition in hydrophilic compounds, depending on pulse species. Canning led to a greater decrease in proteins, total dietary fibers, magnesium or phytate contents compared to household cooking (i.e., −30%, −44%, −33% and −38%, p < 0.05, respectively, in kidney beans). As canned pulses are easy to use for consumers, additional research is needed to improve their transformation process to further optimize their nutritional quality.