Abstract
Amino acid composition, protein digestibility, calculated protein efficiency ratio (C-PER and DC-PER), chemical scores and water-soluble vitamin content of cowpea seeds germinated at 25°C or 30°C for 24h were determined. Also, the effect of processing steps (heated-air drying, decortication and cooking) on these parameters were examined. Germination had little effect on amino acid profile of cowpeas. In vitro protein digestibility was not improved significantly by germination nor by decortication but was improved by cooking. C-PER and DC-PER ranged from 1.95 to 2.21 and from 1.63 to 1.82, respectively. DC-PER compared well withreported rat PER of cowpea products and seemed more sensitive than C-PER. Based on whole egg values, chemical scores ranged from 37.7 to 45.8% (mean±SD; 42.2±2.4%). Germination increased the contents of niacin, thiamin and riboflavin significantly. Decortication resulted in up to 30% loss in niacin while thiamin content was reduced 41% by cooking.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akpapunam MA, Markakis P (1981) Physiochemical and nutritional aspects of cowpea flour. A Research note. J Food Sci 46: 972–973
AOAC (1980) Official methods of analysis, 13th edn. Washington DC: Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 759 pp.
Augustin J, Klein BP, Becker D, Venugopal PB (1985) Methods of Vitamin Assay, 4th edn. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 352–362, 376–380
Baker EA (1983) Protein quality of raw, extruded and drum dried cowpea meals as determined by in vivo and in vitro methods. MS Thesis. University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Bodwell CE, Satterlee LD, Hackler LR (1980) Protein digestibility of the same protein proparations by human and rat assays and by in vitro enzymic digestion methods. Am J Clin Nutr 33: 677–686
Carpenter KJ (1981) The nutritional contribution of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in perspective. Food Technol 3: 77–78
Chen LH, Thacker R (1978) Germination and nitrogenous constituents of pea seeds (Pisum sativum). J Food Sci 43: 1884–1885
Deshpande SS, Sathe SK, Salunkhe DK, Cornforth DP (1982) Effects of dehulling on phytic acid, polyphenols, and enzyme inhibitors of dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). J Food Sci 47: 1846–1850
Edijala JK (1980) Effects of processing on the thiamin, riboflavin and protein contents of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp). J Food Technol 15: 435–443
El-Mahdy AR, El-Sebaiy LA (1985) Proteolytic activity, amino acid composition and protein quality of germinating fenugreek seeds (Trigonella Foenum graecum L). Food Chem 18: 19–33
FAO/WHO (1973) Energy and protein requirements. Technical Report Series No. 52, World Health Organization, Rome, Italy
Finney PL (1983) Effect of germination of cereal and legume nutritive changes and food or feed values. In: Nozzolillo A, Lean PJ, Loewus FA (eds) Recent Advances in Phytochemistry. New York: Plenum Press, Vol. 17, pp. 229–306
French CE, Berryman GH, Goorley JT, Harper HA, Harkness DM, Thacker EF (1944) The production of vitamins in germinated peas, soybeans, and other beans. J Nutr 28: 63–70
Happich ML, Bodwell CE, Phillips JG (1981) Collaborative studies of amino acid analyses: A review and preliminary observations from a nine-laboratory study. In: Bodwell CE, Adkins JS, Hopkins DT (eds) Protein Quality in Humans: Assessment and in vitro Estimation. Westport, Conn.: AVI Publishing Co. Inc., pp. 197–219
Hegested DM (1974) Assessment of protein quality. In: Improvement of Protein Nutriture. Committee on amino acids: Food and Nutrition Board and National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, pp. 64–88
Hsu D, Leung HK, Finney PL, Morad MM (1980) Effect of germination on nutritive value and baking properties of dry peas, lentils and faba beans. J Food Sci 45: 87–92
Hugli TE, Moore S (1972) Determination of the tryptophan content of protein by ion exchange chromatography of alkaline hydrolyzates. J Biol Chem 247: 2828
King RD, Puwastien P (1987) Effects of germination on the proximate composition and nutritional quality of winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) seeds. J Food Sci 52: 106–108
Laurena AC, Garcia VV, Mendoza ET (1987) Effects of heat on the removal of polyphenols and in vitro digestibility of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Plants Food Hum Nutr 37: 183–192
Liener IE (1979a) Protease inhibitors and lectins. Int Rev Biochem 27: 97
Mabesa LB, Atutubo EO, Castro-Sandoval E (1982) Protein quality of flours from germinated legumes. Phil Agric 65: 245–251
McWatters KH, Chinnan MS (1985) Effect of hydration of cowpea meal on physical and sensory attributes of a traditional West African food. J Fod Sci 50: 444–446
Mostafa MM, Rahma EH, Rady AH (1987) Chemical and nutritional changes in soybean during germination. Food Chem 23: 257–275
Moore S (1963) On the determination of cystine as cysteic acid. J Biol Chem 238: 235–237
Nnanna IA, Phillips RD (1988) Changes in oligosaccharide content, enzyme activities and dry matter during controlled germination of cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). J Food Sci 53: 1782–1786
Nnanna IA, Phillips RD (1989) Protein and starch digestibility and flatulence potential of germinated cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). J Food Sci (accepted)
Nnanna IA, Phillips RD, McWatters KH, Hung YC (1989) Effect of germination on the physical, chemical and sensory characteristics of cowpea products: flour, paste, akara. J Agric Food Chem (submitted)
Pellet PL, Young VR (1980) Nutritional evaluation of protein foods. WHTR-3U NUP-129. The United Nations University
Phillips RD (1983) A scheme for the rapid preparation of protein hydrolyzates for amino acid analysis. J Food Sci 48: 284–285
Phillips RD, Baker EA (1987) Protein nutritional quality of traditional and novel cowpea products measured by in vivo and in vitro methods. J Food Sci 52: 696–699
Porter DH, Swaisgood HE, Catignani GL (1984) Characteristic of an immobilized digestive enzyme system for determination of protein digestibility. J Agric food Chem 32: 334–339
Robaidek E (1983) Bioassay methods for nutrients in processed foods. Food Technol 1: 81–83
SAS (1985 SAS User's Guide: Basics, Version 5th edn. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc., 1290 pp.
Satterlee LD, Kendrick JG, Marshall HF, Jewell DK, Ali RA, Heckman MM, Steinke HF, Larson P, Phillips RD, Sarwar G, Slump P (1982) In vitro assay for predicting protein efficiency ratio as measured by rat bioassay: collaborative study. J Assoc Offic Anal Chem 65: 798–89
Sosulski FW, Kasirye-Alemu En, Sumner AK (1987) Microscopic, nutritional and functional properties of cowpea fours and protein concentrates during storage. J Food Sci 52: 700–736
Sternberg M, Kim CY, Schwende FJ (1975) Lysinoalanine: presence in foods and food ingredients. Science 190: 992–994
Subbulakshmi G, Ganesh-Kumar G, Venkataraman LV (1976) Effect of germination on the carbohydrates, protein, trypsin inhibitor, and haemaglutininsin horse gram and moth bean. Nutr Rtp Int 13: 19–31
Vandersteop J (1981) Effect of germination on the nutritive value of legumes. Food Technol 3: 83–85
Venkataraman LV, Jaya RV, Krishanmurthy KS (1976) Effect of germination on the biological value, digestibility coefficient and net protein utilization of some legume proteins. Nutr Rep Int 13: 197–205
Wang YD, Fields ML (1978) Germination of corn and sorghum in the home to improve nutritive value. J Food Sci 43: 1113–1115
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nnanna, I.A., Phillips, R.D. Amino acid composition protein quality and water-soluble vitamin content of germinated cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). Plant Food Hum Nutr 39, 187–200 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01091899
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01091899