Composition, Nutritional Value, Functionality, Processing, and Novel Food Uses of Pulses and Pulse Ingredients

Pulses, the dry edible seeds of plants in the legume family, include field pea, dry bean, lentil, chickpea, and fababean. The contemporary definition of pulses excludes oilseed legumes and legumes consumed in immature form. Pulses have been nourishing people around the world for thousands of years and are well known as a rich, sustainable source of protein that is high in lysine and therefore complementary to protein from cereals. They also are good sources of energy and dietary fiber, are low in fat, and contain significant levels of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients and bioactives. Owing to its intermediate amylose content, starch from pulses is digested more slowly than are most cereal and tuber starches. Whole and split pulses and pulse flours also exhibit relatively high levels of type 1 resistant starch. As a result, the consumption of pulses is beneficial to the management of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity, is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and...