Contents and digestibility of carbohydrates of chickpea and black gram as affected by domestic processing and cooking

Abstract

Starch digestibility ( in vitro) and level of total soluble sugars, reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars and starch in cultivars of chickpea ( Cicer arietinum), as well as black gram ( Vigna mungo), varied significantly. The effects of different domestic processing and cooking methods on the contents of starch, sugars and starch digestibility ( in vitro) of eight varieties of chickpea and four of black gram were investigated. Cooking, autoclaving and germination decreased the starch content and increased the level of total soluble sugars, reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars and starch digestibility of both the legumes. Soaking reduced the sugars considerably but starch only marginally. Autoclaving increased starch digestibility more than 4-fold and 5-fold in chickpea and black gram, respectively. Cooking and sprouting also improved starch digestibility appreciably.