Proximate Composition, Minerals Content and Functional Properties of Five Lima Bean Accessions

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In order to combat food insecurity in Ghana and Africa as a whole, efforts are being made by the Crops Research Institute, of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana, to produce new bean varieties with improved characteristics such as high yield, disease resistance and high nutritional value. Some of the new lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) accessions collected include: Koloenu white, Koloenu brown, Nsawam black and white, Ohwam Mampong and Koloenu small black and white. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the proximate composition, minerals content and functional properties of flour from these five lima bean accessions. The proximate and functional properties were determined using standard procedures whereas minerals content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The crude protein content was in the range of 20.69–23.08 %, crude fat, 0.59–1.14 %, crude fibre, 4.06–6.86 %, ash, 4.39–5.61%, moisture 9.19-11.83 %, carbohydrate 54.31-59.64 % and energy, 313.28-328.10 kcal/100 g. The mineral content was in the range of 2.45–172.77 mg/100g, for Iron and Phosphorus respectively. The functional properties of the flours: foaming capacity, solubility capacity, bulk density, swelling index, water absorption capacity, and emulsion capacity were in the range of 18.00-22.13%, 17.00-21.01%, 0.66 g/mL, 0.98-1.64, 0.88-1.41 g/g, and 49.63-59.99%, respectively. The results indicate that, lima beans are rich in protein and have appreciable functional properties that could be exploited in food formulations such as koose, sauces and stews. The lima bean flours could also be used to fortify conventional flours which are low in protein and fiber.