Abstract
The present investigation was designed to characterize the phenolic profile of Lima beans (Phaseolus Lunatus) and also to evaluate the antioxidant indices: total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and amino acid composition at different stages of simulated gastrointestinal digestion (oral, gastric, intestinal). High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-DAD) analysis revealed the presence of some phenolic compounds (gallic acid, catechin, caffeic acid, rutin, quercitrin, quercetin, kaempferol and apigenin), with a reduced amount (mg/g) after cooking; gallic acid (raw: 1.96 ± 0.02; cooked: 1.82 ± 0.01); catechin (raw: 0.83 ± 0.01; cooked: 0.73 ± 0.01); rutin (raw: 2.61 ± 0.03; cooked:1.74 ±0.03); quercitrin (raw: 5.73 ± 0.01; cooked: 5.68 ± 0.01); apigenin (raw: 2.09 ±0.01; cooked:1.79 ± 0.02), with exception of quercetin (raw: 2.11 ±0.02; cooked: 5.73 ± 0.02) and caffeic acid (raw: 2.08 ±0.04; cooked: 2.95 ± 0.04). The results of antioxidant indices of in vitro enzyme digested lima beans revealed higher values for cooked Lima beans compared to the raw counterpart, with a stepwise increase at the different stages of in vitro digestion, with the exception of ferric reducing antioxidant power; TPC (oral digestion: 65.44 ± 0.96; gastric digestion:134.87± 0.46; intestinal digestion:517.72 ± 4.70; mg/g tannic acid equivalent), TFC (oral digestion: 199.30 ± 6.43; gastric digestion: 1065.97 ± 1.22; intestinal digestion: 3691.87 ± 4.2; mg/g quercetin equivalent), DPPH (oral digestion: 85800.00 ± 305.50; gastric digestion: 99066.66 ± 115.47; intestinal digestion: 211354.20 ± 360.84 µmol TE/g sample). The results also revealed a progressive increase in the antioxidant indices and amino acid composition (mg/kg) for both raw and processed lima beans at various stages of the in vitro digestion, with the intestinal phase of simulated digestion ranking higher. This implied that the Lima beans contained some essential amino acids and antioxidant molecules that would be readily available after passing through the gastrointestinal tract and could therefore be explored as functional food in the management of free radical mediated diseases.
Highlights
Plants are the most predominant harvesters of solar energy and they are valuable primary resources of essential nutrients for human food production (Bain et al, 2013; Fanzo, 2015)
The quantitative estimates of these phenolic compounds in Lima beans (Table 1) revealed a slight reduction in the level of some of them after cooking, with exception of caffeic acid and quercetin which were higher in the raw Lima beans
The results revealed higher DPPH radical scavenging activity in the enzyme digested cooked beans compared to the raw counterpart
Summary
Plants are the most predominant harvesters of solar energy and they are valuable primary resources of essential nutrients for human food production (Bain et al, 2013; Fanzo, 2015). Lima beans are sometimes referred to as haba beans, sugar beans, butter beans, Guffin beans, civet beans, Hibbert beans, Pallar beans, Sieva beans, Madagascar beans, and Burma beans It is one of the underutilized legumes found in Nigeria, though a minor crop; they have been an important source of plant protein to millions of Nigerians and are widely known for their fibre, mineral and protein contents but with a lesser attention to their nutraceutical value (Saleem, Ahmed, & Hasan, 2016; Yellavila et al, 2015). Polyphenols from Lima beans will possibly act as antioxidants, hindering the formation of free radicals that eventually lead to the deterioration of biological molecules These naturally occurring phenolic compounds are predominantly present in the seed coat and possess anti-mutagenic and antioxidant activities (Attree, Du, & Xu, 2015; Iriti & Varoni, 2017). The antioxidant compounds and other phytonutrients present in most legumes have been extracted and measured by different methods
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