Advances of using pulse flours in cereal-based products

In recent years, consumer awareness about the environmental and nutritional benefits of pulses has made them a popular choice for satisfying the needs of emerging trends such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or allergen-free diets. Indeed, pulses have been long known for their nutritional and health-promoting properties, being a good source of fibre, proteins, antioxidant compounds and having a low-glycaemic index. Despite that, the nutritional value of pulses is limited by the presence of antinutrients that decrease digestibility and micronutrient bioavailability. In addition to nutritional issues, consumers often identify off-flavors in products containing high levels (>10%) of pulse flours. Thus, despite Western consumers are increasingly interested in natural and healthy food products – without turning down the hedonistic aspect of food – the use of pulses is underexploited at an industrial scale, and they are seldom used as ingredients in processed foods such as bakery products, bread, pasta and snacks. The present study aims at presenting the lights and shadows of the technological processes currently used to improve the technological and/or the nutritional and sensorial properties of pulses used in foods as grain or flour. The effects of pre-gelatinization and germination on molecular, physical and technological properties of pulses (including chickpeas, cowpeas and lentils) were considered. Moreover, the use of the treated grains/flours was assessed in three types of cereal-based products (i.e. pasta, snacks and bread). Pre-gelatinization was more effective in modifying proteins rather than starch granules, whose gelatinization and retrogradation properties remain the same after treatment. On the other hand, dough consistency improved after pre-gelatinization, accounting for the good quality of the related pasta. As regard germination, flour from sprouted cowpea may represent a better ingredient than the flour obtained from non-sprouted legumes in terms of sensory properties and overall macroscopic organization. Industrial-scale germinated chickpea flour shows increased bioavailability of relevant micronutrients and of a sensible decrease in anti-nutritional factors. Flatulence-related oligosaccharides almost disappeared in germinated chickpeas, with a concomitant increase in sucrose that positively affected the dough development during leavening. Thus, the availability of pre-treated pulses at an industrial scale expands the potential for the integration of these novel ingredients into the food market and helps to meet increasing consumer demands for natural healthy food products.