Tarek A. El-Adawy

The effects of cooking treatments (boiling, autoclaving and microwavecooking) and germination on the nutritional composition and antinutritionalfactors of chickpeas were studied. Cooking treatments...

The nutritional quality and functional properties of paprika seed flour and seed kernel flours of pumpkin and watermelon were studied, as were the characteristics and structure of their seed oils. Paprika seed and seed kernels of pumpkin and watermelon were rich in oil and protein. All flour samples contained considerable amounts of P, K, Mg, Mn, and Ca. Paprika seed flour was superior to watermelon and pumpkin seed kernel flours in content of lysine and total essential amino acids. Oil samples had high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids with linoleic and oleic acids as the major acids. All oil samples fractionated into seven classes including triglycerides as a major lipid class. Data obtained for the oils' characteristics compare well with those of other edible oils. Antinutritional compounds such as stachyose, raffinose, verbascose, trypsin inhibitor, phytic acid, and tannins were detected in all flours. Pumpkin seed kernel flour had higher values of chemical score, essential amino acid index, and in vitro protein digestibility than the other flours examined. The first limiting amino acid was lysine for both watermelon and pumpkin seed kernel flours, but it was leucine in paprika seed flour. Protein solubility index, water and fat absorption capacities, emulsification properties, and foam stability were excellent in watermelon and pumpkin seed kernel flours and fairly good in paprika seed flour. Flour samples could be potentially added to food systems such as bakery products and ground meat formulations not only as a nutrient supplement but also as a functional agent in these formulations. Keywords: Watermelon seed; pumpkin seed; paprika seed; oil characteristics; functional properties; nutritional quality

Legume seeds (soy bean, lupin and bean seeds) were soaked in 0.5% sodium bicarbonate in attempt to evaluate their nutritional quality and protein solubility index. Soaking process led to an increase in the hydration coefficient, seed weight, total protein, ash, fat, fiber, while non protein nitrogen, total carbohydrates, starch, stachyose, raffinose, reducing sugars, and minerals (except Na) were decreased. All antinutritional factors such as phytic acid, tannin, trypsin inhibitor and hemagglutinin activity were decreased during soaking in 0.5% sodium bicarbonate; it was the same for the protein solubility in different solutions, while the in-vitro protein digestibility and available lysine were increased.