Effects of Processing Methods on Proximate, Antinutrients, and Antioxidant Properties of Pigeon Pea (Cajanus cajan) Flours and Organoleptic Properties of the Puddings

Abstract

The effects of processing methods on proximate, antinutrients and antioxidant properties of pigeon pea flours and organoleptic properties of the puddings were investigated. Seven flours were produced using soaking, boiling and combined soaking/boiling processing methods and designated as: (So12) soaked for 12 h, (So24) soaked for 24 h, (B30) boiled for 30 min, (B60) boiled for 60 min, (S12B30) soaked for 12 h and boiled for 30 min, (S24B60) soaked for 24 h and boiled for 60 min and (RPPF) raw pigeon pea flour, which served as the control. The proximate, antinutrients, and antioxidant properties were analyzed using standard methods. The sensory properties of puddings produced from pigeon pea flours and sprouted cowpea flour were evaluated using the 9-point hedonic scale. The proximate results depicted that moisture ranged (5.45 – 9.66%), crude protein (18.85 – 24.16%), fat (1.31 – 1.80%), crude fibre (3.04 – 5.01%), ash (1.43 – 3.08%) and carbohydrate (59.55 – 65.68%). The energy value ranged from 349.22 to 356 kcal. The antinutrients were significantly (p<0.05) reduced by all the processing treatments. The antioxidant properties ranged for total phenol (85.95 – 162.99 mg/GAE/100g), total flavonoid (44.91 – 93.31 mg/QE/100g), DPPH (39.90 – 63.23%), FRAP (6.35 – 16.93 umol Fe²⁺/g), and ABTS (8.43 – 19.47 umol TE/g). The organoleptic results showed that the processed pigeon pea puddings recorded higher scores than the cowpea pudding, thus are more preferred. Therefore, flours with good nutrients, high antioxidant properties and acceptable products can be produced from pigeon pea processed by different methods.