Seed quality and nutritional goals in pea, lentil, faba bean and chickpea breeding

A major-effect genetic locus, ApRVII, controlling resistance against both adapted and non-adapted aphid biotypes in pea

KEY MESSAGE

A genome-wide association study for pea resistance against a pea-adapted biotype and a non-adapted biotype of the aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, identified a genomic region conferring resistance to both biotypes. In a context of reduced insecticide use, the development of cultivars resistant to insect pests is crucial for an integrated pest management. Pea (Pisum sativum) is a crop of major importance among cultivated legumes, for the supply of dietary proteins and nitrogen in low-input cropping systems. However, yields of the pea crop have become unstable due to plant parasites. The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) is an insect pest species forming a complex of biotypes, each one adapted to feed on one or a few related legume species. This study aimed to identify resistance to A. pisum and the underlying genetic determinism by examining a collection of 240 pea genotypes. The collection was screened against a pea-adapted biotype and a non-adapted biotype of A. pisum to characterize their resistant phenotype. Partial resistance was observed in some pea genotypes exposed to the pea-adapted biotype. Many pea genotypes were completely resistant to non-adapted biotype, but some exhibited partial susceptibility. A genome-wide association study, using pea exome-capture sequencing data, enabled the identification of the major-effect quantitative trait locus ApRVII on the chromosome 7. ApRVII includes linkage disequilibrium blocks significantly associated with resistance to one or both of the two aphid biotypes studied. Finally, we identified candidate genes underlying ApRVII that are potentially involved in plant-aphid interactions and marker haplotypes linked with aphid resistance. This study sets the ground for the functional characterization of molecular pathways involved in pea defence to the aphids but also is a step forward for breeding aphid-resistant cultivars.

Effect of thermal processing and maceration on the antioxidant activity of white beans

Phenolic compounds, which naturally occur in beans, are known to have antioxidant activity, which may be partially lost during the processing of this legume. This study evaluated the effect of thermal processing and maceration on the phenolic acid and flavonoids profile and content and on the antioxidant activity of white beans. According to the results obtained from the 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) method, there were no significant differences among treatment groups analysed. When was using 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrylhydrazyl method (DPPH), beans cooked without maceration present the higher antioxidant activity, and raw beans the lower. The phenolic acids found in greater amounts were gallic acid and chlorogenic acid. Kaempferol was only detected in the soaked and cooked samples; catechin and kaempferol-3-rutinoside were found in the highest concentrations. Quercetin and kaempferol-3-glucoside were not affected by the cooking process, either with or without maceration. In general, the heat treatment increased the antioxidant activity.

INCAP Studies of Vegetable Proteins for Human Consumption

This article describes the efforts of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP) to develop a relatively low-cost vegetable protein mixture suitable as a complementary food for infants and young children. As it turned out, the resulting product became popular with older children and adults, and its superior nutritional benefits were widely recognized by the population. This effort led to broader studies by INCAP of the nutritional quality of vegetable protein mixtures, including raw materials, processing to convert them into human-grade products, product formulation, and commercialization.

Nutritional value of raw and autoclaved kabuli and desi chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.) for growing chickens

1. Two experiments were carried out to determine the effect of inclusion of raw (kabuli and desi) and autoclaved (desi) chickpea seeds in wheat-based starter diets in chickens grown to 28 d of age on the performance, digestive organ sizes, nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn), ileal apparent protein and starch digestibilities (APD and ASD) and intestinal alpha-amylase and trypsin activities. 2. In the first experiment, diets were formulated to contain 0, 150, 300 and 450 g/kg of raw kabuli chickpea seeds. Increasing the proportion of seed in the diet negatively influenced body weight gain, food intake and food efficiency. The relative weights of the pancreas, liver and gizzard and the relative lengths of duodenum, jejunum, ileum and caeca were increased significantly when the chickpea seeds were included in the diets. Correspondingly, APD, ASD, alpha-amylase and trypsin activities and AMEn were reduced significantly when the chickpea seed was incorporated in the diets. 3. In the 2nd experiment, diets were formulated to contain 75 and 150 g/kg of raw and autoclaved desi chickpea seeds. Weight gain and food intake of the chicks given desi chickpea diets were significantly reduced compared with those fed on the control diet. Increasing the proportion of seed in the diet negatively influenced body weight gain, food intake and food efficiency. Moreover, a significant increment in the relative weights of liver and pancreas, and in the relative lengths of duodenum, ileum and caeca was observed when the concentration of chickpea seeds in the diets was increased. Feeding autoclaved seeds significantly increased the weight gains and the food intakes. However, food efficiency was not modified by the autoclaving. Relative weights of gizzard and liver and relative lengths of ileum were decreased significantly by the inclusion of autoclaved desi chickpea in the diet. 4. We concluded that the inclusion of kabuli (up to 450 g/kg) and desi (up to 150 g/kg) chickpea seeds produced a negative effect on the performance of the birds, and an increment in the relative weights and lengths of the digestive organs. In addition, the incorporation of kabuli chickpea produced a reduction of protein and starch digestibilities, alpha-amylase and trypsin activities, and AMEn of food compared with the birds given the control diet. Autoclaved treatment of desi chickpea improved the performance of the birds.

Food legumes in human nutrition: a personal perspective

Perhaps with the notable exception, and that only in recent years, of red meat, which contributes dietary saturated fats and cholesterol, two well-known reasons in the etiology of heart-related disorders, no single group of foods has been portrayed in such negative terms as the food legumes traditionally have been during the last 50 years of research in food science and human nutrition. Even more alarming are the trends of continued research on such aspects as the deficiency of sulfur-amino acids (both by amino acid analyses as well as rat feeding studies), and the heat lability/stability of proteinase inhibitors and phytohemagglutinins in various legume species. A survey of literature indicates that over 100 research papers were published during the 1981 to 1990 period alone, in just three journals (Journal of Food Science, Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, and Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture) having the highest citation ratings in food sciences on these three topics, with a general consensus about the facts that were well established as early as the late 1950s. Considering the proliferation of journals publishing food science and human nutrition related work, especially in the Third World countries, the actual number probably would be much higher. This trend also indicates that we are repeating certain aspects of research on the importance of food legumes in human nutrition. Are we really any closer today in our understanding and appreciation of why the nomadic human made such a choice for their very existence during the transition to a more civilized society? This is a high time to project the image of legumes in human nutrition in proper perspective. The validity of our continued research on certain aspects of legumes in human nutrition, at a time when worldwide the research dollars are becoming increasingly harder to come by, is challenged in this review. Essentially, it is a journey through the author's personal diary that raises several questions in justifying the continued research support for at least some nutrition-related work on legumes and an account of what research areas perhaps need to be targeted in the 21st century.