Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) as a Source of Essential Fatty Acids - A Biofortification Approach.

Amod Madurapperumage,George Vandemark,William Bridges,Emerson Shipe,Leung Tang,Pushparajah Thavarajah,Dil Thavarajah

doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.734980

Abstract

Chickpea is a highly nutritious pulse crop with low digestible carbohydrates (40–60%), protein (15–22%), essential fats (4–8%), and a range of minerals and vitamins. The fatty acid composition of the seed adds value because fats govern the texture, shelf-life, flavor, aroma, and nutritional composition of chickpea-based food products. Therefore, the biofortification of essential fatty acids has become a nutritional breeding target for chickpea crop improvement programs worldwide. This paper examines global chickpea production, focusing on plant lipids, their functions, and their benefits to human health. In addition, this paper also reviews the chemical analysis of essential fatty acids and possible breeding targets to enrich essential fatty acids in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) biofortification. Biofortification of chickpea for essential fatty acids within safe levels will improve human health and support food processing to retain the quality and flavor of chickpea-based food products. Essential fatty acid biofortification is possible by phenotyping diverse chickpea germplasm over suitable locations and years and identifying the candidate genes responsible for quantitative trait loci mapping using genome-wide association mapping.

Highlights

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) is a self-pollinating diploid (2n = 2x = 16) pulse crop with a 738 Mbp genome (Varshney et al, 2013)
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are esterified within the lipids and bind to TAG’s glycerol end or a phospholipid
Optimizing essential fatty acids (EFAs) levels in chickpea should be feasible by applying the genetic and transgenic approaches followed in chickpea biofortification for micronutrients

Summary

Introduction

Chickpea consumption can benefit human health by providing important fatty acids. This review focuses on global chickpea production, biofortification, the function of fats and benefits to human health, chemical analysis of EFAs, and possible breeding targets to optimize ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids chickpea. A combined application of Fe, Zn, and urea (in a tank mix) can increase Fe and Zn concentrations in chickpea seeds and positively influence grain yields and protein levels (Pal et al, 2021).

Results

Conclusion