Abstract
African yam bean, an underutilized legume usually cultivated for its edible tubers and seeds, is known for its nutrition-rich qualities; however, the crop’s level of consumption is low. The underutilization of the crop could be attributed to several constraints, including long cooking hours of up to 24 hours. Cooking time is an important food trait; it affects consumers’ choices, nutrients content, and anti-nutrient conditions. Additionally, foods requiring long cooking hours are non-economical in terms of energy usage and preparation time. The prolonged cooking time associated with AYB places enormous limitations on the invaluable food security potentials of the crop. Therefore, the availability of AYB grains with a short cooking time could lift the crop from its present underused status. To efficiently develop AYB grains with reduced cooking time, information on the crop’s cooking variables is a prerequisite. This review presents available information on variations in cooking time, cooking methods, and processing steps used in improving cooking time and nutrient qualities in AYB. Likewise, the review brings to knowledge standard procedures that could be explored in evaluating AYB’s cooking time. This document also emphasizes the molecular perspectives that could pilot the development of AYB cultivars with reduced cooking time.
Highlights
Food and nutrition security which is part of livelihood, is notably attracting the attention of stakeholders, spanning across nations, research organizations, the general public, academic institutions, and policymakers
Seeds soaked for 6 hours in 0.060% akanwu and 1.00% common salt showed a 50% decrease in cooking time, while seeds soaked in tap water achieved a 50% reduction in cooking time after 24 hours of presoaking
The double-stranded breaks (DSB) is repaired through non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or homologdirected recombination (HDR) pathways resulting in insertion/deletion (INDELS) and substitution mutations in the target region (s), respectively [150, 151]
Summary
Food and nutrition security which is part of livelihood, is notably attracting the attention of stakeholders, spanning across nations, research organizations, the general public, academic institutions, and policymakers. As of 2017, the number of food-insecure people worldwide was estimated at 690 million [1]; by 2050, a 70–85% increase in food production will be needed to feed the projected 9.3 billion people [2, 3]. Notwithstanding, upscaling the adoption and utilization of sustainable crops offers considerable potentials in boosting food production amidst the prevailing challenges. The contribution of legumes as food and feed differs across types, while some legumes are known worldwide and considerably utilized (soy bean) (Glycine max L), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.)) others are less known and underutilized (African yam bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa Harms), lablab beans, (Lablab purpureus L) wing bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolabus L.). Adopting and accepting underutilized legumes such as African yam bean as a food crop is vital for their survival; AYB’s adoption and utilization is intertwined with several factors, including cooking time, nutrient potentials, palatability, and value-added products
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