P. Vandarkuzhali ¹, Sangeetha Narayanasamy ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry University, Puducherry, IN

Abstract

Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum) - an underexploited poor man's pulse crop is a succulent, pubescent and drought resistant annual bushy herb which is an indigenous food crop of Indian peninsula gaining more importance for its high protein and fiber content. National Academy of Science recognized it as a potential food resource. This legume was commonly used by farmer community and low income group people due to its unacceptable taste and flavor in earlier days. But now, it can be consumed as whole, dehulled, splits, canned, boiled, roasted or ground into flour which occupied a very important place in human diet in many developing countries. Horse gram is not only having good nutritional profile but also occupies a prominent role both in traditional and modern medicine. It is always essential to have an in-depth knowledge of the plant with regard to its ecobiology, phytochemistry and nutritive values and all other applications before using the plant for any purpose so as to gain the maximum utility of the plant. The detailed information about the origin, distribution, morphology, ecological features and crop management of horse gram is discussed in this paper. Nutritional compositions, phytochemicals, significance of processing and product formulation are well summarized. This paper also briefs various medicinal properties and formulations of horse gram used to treat diseases. Putting into nutshell, this paper overviews the importance of poor man's pulse crop as food, nutraceutical and medicine which could get a prominent role in therapeutic food preparations for the global community.

Keywords

Horse Gram, Macrotyloma uniflorum, Processing, Phytochemicals, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Value.

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P. Vasantha Kumari ¹, Sangeetha Narayanasamy ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, IN

Abstract

Effect of multilegume flour addition (50, 70 and 90%) on the physical and nutritional character of pasta was studied. The selected raw materials were sprouted for 24 hours and subjected to forced convection tray drier and ground to fine flour for the development of pasta. The developed pasta was assessed in terms of cooking quality, color, nutritional, pasting profile and sensory properties. As legume flour level increased, protein, crude fat and ash, of pasta increased. Incorporation of multilegume flour caused increases in cooking loss and cooking time of multilegume pasta when compared to control. Sensory and cooking characteristics of pasta were affected when legume flour level was increased compared with the control. Pasta with 70 per cent legume flour scored the highest sensory scores among other two levels of incorporation (50% and 90%). Color measurement of sample showed that a^* and b^* values increased and L^* value decreased as the incorporation level increased. The peak and final viscosity decreased as the incorporation of multilegume flour increased. The study concludes that the usage of 70 per cent legume flour in pasta formulation gave satisfactory results in terms of nutrition and sensory acceptability.

Keywords

Legumes, Pasta, Sprouting, Dehydration and Processing.

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