Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) flour: A functional ingredient to favour the use of an unexploited sustainable protein source

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 15;13(10):e0205776. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205776. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Variability in dehulling efficiency, colour, chemical composition and selected functional properties of raw and pre-treated bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) (BG) flour from red and black-eye varieties were studied. Functional properties were water and oil absorption, gelation, pasting, emulsification and foaming capacity. Pre-treatment of seeds (i.e. soaking, roasting and combined soaking and roasting) improved dehulling efficiency of BG varieties. Protein content of flour ranged from 15.6-19.6%, starch from 47.8-52.0% and sucrose from 1.9-5%. An improvement was observed for protein and ash content of pre-treated flour compared to raw flour. Heat treatments increased onset gelatinization temperature of flour. Black-eye BG flours that had higher starch content, also had better gelation capacity than red BG flours. All pre-treatment methods decreased flour emulsification capacity and stability. Dry-roasting caused a greater decline than other methods, whereas soaking had little effect on emulsion stability. Further, soaking increased foaming capacity, whilst a decline was observed in roasted flour. All pre-treatment methods increased oil absorption capacity of both BG flour varieties. Overall, soaked and combined soaked and roasted flour is recommended for BG flour to be incorporated in food products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbohydrates / analysis
  • Flour* / analysis
  • Flour* / standards
  • Food Quality
  • Food Supply
  • Plant Proteins, Dietary* / analysis
  • Vigna* / chemistry

Substances

  • Carbohydrates
  • Plant Proteins, Dietary

Grants and funding

The work was funded by Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (Grant award CF9153/2013 to JM). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.