Nutritional Characteristics of Black Lentil from Soleto: A Single-Flower Vetch Landrace of Apulia Region (Southern Italy).

Angela Rosa Piergiovanni

doi:10.3390/foods10112863

Abstract

Archaeological remains and historical documents demonstrate that a single-flower vetch has been cultivated in Italy from the early stages of agriculture. Some Italian communities have perpetuated the custom to eat its seeds still to the present. This is the case of people living in some villages of the southern Apulia region. In consequence of the high resemblance of the single-flower vetch (Vicia articulata Hornem.) seeds with those of lentils, the Apulian landrace is locally named “lenticchia nera di Soleto” (black lentil from Soleto). The evaluation of seed nutritional traits of this landrace revealed good macronutrient contents (proteins and starch, 28.4 and 42.4 g/100 g respectively), low trypsin inhibitor levels (4.08 TIU/mg), short cooking times after soaking (24–25 min) and a lack of broken seeds at the end of cooking. The coat content of total phenolic compounds (TPC) of the Apulian black lentil was comparable with that of the lentil cv. Beluga (68.23 vs. 66.14 mg GAE/g, respectively).

Highlights

Legumes have had a great relevance throughout human communities from the early stages of agriculture
A visual inspection of the “lenticchia nera from Soleto” seeds allowed recognition of visual inspection of the seeds allowed of morphological differences with respectnera to the two lentils included inrecognition the study
“Lenticchia nera from Soleto” seeds were round in shape, with a mean diameter of 3 mm, “Lenticchia nera from Soleto” seeds were round in shape, with a mean diameter of 3 mm, but they were not flat as those of lentils usually are

Summary

Introduction

Legumes have had a great relevance throughout human communities from the early stages of agriculture. Several annual and perennial species were domesticated in both the Old and New World [1]. Those with good agronomic and nutritional performances are still cultivated and eaten at a worldwide level. The success of legumes is attributable to their many uses (food, feed, foraging, green manure, and ornamental and medicinal utilization), their easy seed storage, and the multiple ways of their consumption (leafs, immature pods and seeds, dry seeds). Frozen immature pods and seeds have gained consumer approval. Only a few annual species, such as the fava bean (V. faba L.), common vetch (V. sativa L.), broad-leaved vetch (V. narbonensis L.), hairy vetch

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