Comparative evaluation of the nutritional value of faba bean flours and protein isolates with major legumes in the market
Dai Shi, James D. House, Janitha P.D. Wanasundara, Michael T. Nickerson
Abstract
Abstract Background and Objectives The plant protein market has been growing at an unprecedented rate. To evaluate the utilization potential of Canadian faba beans, the nutritional value of flours and protein isolates of cultivars Fabelle, Malik, and Snowbird were compared to yellow pea (CDC Amarillo) and soy (AAC 26‐15), the two major players in the legume protein market. Findings Faba bean was largely comparable to pea and soy for total phenolic compounds, condensed tannins, and phytic acid (PA) contents, less concentrated with the raffinose family oligosaccharides, and contained additional vicine and convicine (V‐C) at varying levels. However, it was more limiting in methionine and cysteine and had lower protein quality, particularly in the isolates (in vitro protein digestibility corrected amino acid score, or IV‐PDCAAS < 50%). Among cultivars, Fabelle was the lowest and highest in V‐C and PA, respectively, and Snowbird showed the lowest protein quality. Conclusions Faba bean flours showed higher protein quality values than the isolates, possibly due to the loss of albumins during the extraction process. Future research should focus on the modification of wet fractionation methods to minimize the loss of sulfur‐rich amino acids. Significance and Novelty The findings show a clear picture of how recent faba bean cultivars grown in Canada compared nutritionally to each other and pea and soy, providing insights on ingredient selection and processing.