Effect of cooking on the bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity in grains cowpea cultivars

Nara Vanessa Dos Anjos Barros,Regilda Saraiva Dos Reis Moreira-Araújo,Marcos Antônio Da Mota Araújo,Maria Beatriz Abreu Glória,Maurisrael De Moura Rocha

doi:10.5935/1806-6690.20170097

Nara Vanessa Dos Anjos Barros, Regilda Saraiva Dos Reis Moreira-Araújo + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5935/1806-6690.20170097

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Abstract

The present study evaluated the effect of cooking on the levels of bioactives compounds and antioxidant activity in grains cowpea cultivars. The analysis were performed on the raw samples and after cooking in pressure cooker. Regarding the bioactive compounds present, the grain cultivar BRS Arace exhibited the highest levels of total phenolic compounds (mg/100 g) both before and after cooking, 205.10 ± 2.89 and 150.62 ± 2.64, respectively. Spermine and spermidine were identified in the cultivars (mg/kg) BRS Milenio in the amount of 120.5 in crude and 50.4 in cooked grain, in the BRS Tumucumaque in the amount of 116.2 in crude and 47.9 in cooked grain, exhibited significant losses of these compounds after cooking. It was not detected the presence of anthocyanins and flavonoids in the grain cultivars. For the antioxidant activity were observed different behaviors for each grain cultivar in the two methods evaluated. The grain cultivar BRS Arace presented the highest antioxidant activity before cooking according to both methods tested (μmol TEAC/100 g), 614.7 ± 5.43 (DPPH) and 660.1 ± 7.98 (ABTS). The grain cultivar BRS Xiquexique 419.8 ± 6.80 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and the grain cultivar BRS Milenio 552.1 ± 4.78 after cooking. A strong correlation between the antioxidant activity and phenolic content and total flavonoid was found. It is concluded that the grains cultivars maintained important nutritional and functional characteristics following processing, recommending that the cowpea consumption with broth cooking for retaining compounds with antioxidant properties.

Highlights

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) is one of the most important legumes produced in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, especially in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia
The present study evaluated the effect of cooking on the levels of bioactives compounds and antioxidant activity in grains cowpea cultivars
The present study suggests that the antioxidant activity of the analyzed cowpea cultivars basically results from the total phenolic compound class of bioactive compounds, among which the total flavonoids stood out in particular

Summary

Introduction

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) is one of the most important legumes produced in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, especially in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia This species provides the main source of proteins, calories, dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins for a large segment of the world’s population (PHILLIPS et al, 2003). The common bean is characterized as a food with good nutritional value and high levels of bioactive compounds with significant antioxidant activity, including flavonoids, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins and isoflavones, and some phenolic acids (SILVA et al, 2009) Cooking of this legume leads to loss of cellular structure integrity, with migration of components occurring through leaching, resulting in a reduction of its phytochemical constituents. The effects vary depending on the cultivar and treatment, as studies have shown that cooking significantly reduces the levels of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity (assessed by in vitro assays) (XU; CHANG, 2011)

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