Determination of Selected Metals and Nutritional Compositions of Pigeon Pea (<i>Cajanus cajan</i>) Cultivated in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

This study was aimed to determine the level of selected metals and nutritional composition of pigeon pea seed collected from seven districts of Wolaita zone. A wet digestion procedure involving the use of mixtures of (69% - 72%) HNO3 and (70%) HClO4 at an optimum temperature and time duration was used to determine metals by using flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Kjeldahl digestion method, Soxhlet extraction and furnace were used to determine nutritional values of pigeon pea, and physicochemical properties of soils were assessed using standard methods. The results showed that the levels of concentration of metals in mg/kg dry weight were ranged 105.17 to 144.07 for K, 8.95 to 12.67 for Mg, 7.74 to 12.27 for Ca, 0.247 to 0.543 for Fe, 0.122 to 0.313 for Zn, 0.061 to 0.432 for Mn, 0.087 to 0.134 for Cu and 0.0011 to 0.00196 for Cr. The proximate composition of pigeon pea was in the range of 19.28% to 25.79% for crude protein, 0.993% to 1.75% for crude fat, 3.75% to 5.31% for ash, 10.65% to 13.73% for moisture, 2.28% to 3.06% for fiber, 54.36% to 60.1% for carbohydrate and 326.8 to 345.23 Kcal for energy. The pH of the soil was in the range from pH 5.09 (strongly acidic) to 6.77 (slightly acidic), EC of the soil ranged from 0.047 to 0.14 dS/m (low), the soil OC level was from 1.6% to 2.42% (moderate), total Nitrogen was from 0.12% to 0.23% (low to moderate), the available Phosphorus content of the soil was from 6.82 to 13.52 mg/kg (low to moderate), CEC value of the soil was from 14.8 to 23.53 meq/100g (moderate). The textural classes of soil were sandy clay loam for all sites except Abela abaya. The study confirmed that pigeon pea was a good source of proteins, carbohydrates, and selected metals such as Mg, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, and Cr. The concentration of metals and nutritional compositions of pigeon pea seed were found at a permissible level.

Analysis of Nutrient Profile of Finger Millet(Eleusine coracana(L.)Gaertn.)for Baby Food Formulation Using Pigeon Pea(Cajanus cajan(L.)Millsp.)as Protein Source

Finger millet(Eleusine coracana(L.)Gaertn.)is a drought resistant crop with potentially tremendous but under-explored source of nutraceutical properties as compared to other regularly consumed cereals in the era of drawback of nutritional security,these characteristics must be harnessed to develop finger millet as a novel functional food.Under-nutrition caused by inadequate diets,and other factors that influence nutritional status,is the underlying factor in 45%child deaths.In Kenya only 25%of young children are fed adequately diverse diets.The main objective of this study was to prepare baby food formulas using finger millets with pigeon peas as protein source and to analyze their nutritional profiles.Two finger millets varieties(i)Snapping Green Early,low altitude and medium altitude varieties and(ii)U-15)were studied to determine effects of environment on nutrient profiles.This study showed that Snapping Green Early had better nutrient profiles(12.13%protein and is high in Ca,Mg,Fe,Zn and P)than U-15(11.69%protein and lower nutrients(Ca,Mg,Fe,Zn and P)),and hence was selected for use in the malting process as best variety.As expected,the pigeon peas had the highest protein value(21%).The samples malted for 72 h resulted in reduction of tannin concentration from 0.091%to 0.03%and the amount of nutrients(Ca,Mg,Fe and Zn)doubled and in fact the protein profile increased by 8.31%.The appropriate ratio for the formulation of the baby food was 70:30.The composting resulted in 18.5%increase in protein.

Technological Properties of Improved Pigeon Pea Varieties in Machakos County, Kenya

Pigeon peas, a type of pulse, have immense nutritional potential to improve health in arid and semi-arid regions. However, unlocking this potential relies heavily on understanding their technological properties, such as hydration rate, volumetric expansion, and cooking time. These properties directly influence processing, accessibility, and acceptability as a food source. However, there is limited information on technological properties of improved varieties. The study aimed to determine technological properties of improved pigeon pea varieties grown in Machakos County. Seven improved pigeon peas varieties namely: KARI Mbaazi 1, KARI Mbaazi 2, ICEAP 00850, KAT 60/8, Mituki, Egerton Mbaazi 1, Egerton Mbaazi 2 and ICEAP 00554 (control variety) were used in this study. These varieties were tested for water absorption capacity (WAC), volumetric expansion, density, cooking time (CT) and total soluble solids (TSS) in the broth. The experiment was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) replicated three times. Data analysis was conducted using SAS software version 9.1.3 (SAS, 2006). Means separation was done using Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) at 95% Confidence Level. There were significant differences in water absorption capacity (WAC), volumetric expansion, density, TSS, and CT among the improved varieties (p p < 0.05). KARI Mbaazi 2 exhibited the greatest volumetric expansion after cooking (VEAC) at 11%. Additionally, control variety recorded the highest water absorption capacity (125.48%), which was significantly greater compared to the improved pigeon pea varieties. Cooking time in minutes was shortest for Mituki (46.0) and KAT 60/8 (55.7) and longest for both KARI Mbaazi 1 and ICEAP00850 at 160 minutes. All the varieties showed high TSS ranging from 10.5 to 26.7% indicating the potential to select varieties with desired flavour profiles. Improved pigeon pea varieties (Mituki and KAT60/8) displayed desired technological properties alongside the control variety. These findings inform the specific culinary applications and nutritional needs which enhance utilisation of pigeon peas as food. Further research is needed to determine the impact of the technological properties on the digestibility and glycaemic index of pigeon peas.

Optimization of enzymatic hydrolysis of pigeon pea for cooking quality of dhal

Cooking quality of dehusked splits is influenced by the dehulling method,in particular,by the pre-milling treatments.The effects of four enzymatic hydrolysis parameters,i.e.,enzyme concentration(20-60 mg/100 g dry matter),incubation time(3-15 h),incubation temperature(40-60℃)and tempering water pH(4.0-6.0)on cooking time of pigeon pea dhal were optimized using response surface methodology.Three kinds of enzymes,i.e.,xylanase,pectinase,and cellulas were used in combination for enzymatic pre-treatment.A quadratic model satisfactorily described the dehulling efficiency with high value for the coefficient of determination R^(2)(0.9062).It predicted a minimum cooking time of 21.91 min at enzyme concentration of 37.8 mg/100 g dry matter,incubation time 8.69 min,incubation temperature 48.5℃ and pH 5.49 of tempering water.Cooking time at optimum condition was observed to be 21.50 min and the predicted values of cooking time showed 2.19% deviation from the experimental values.Results of the study revealed that cooking time of enzyme treated dhal could be decreased by 19.77% compared to the oil treated dhal.

Evaluation of total phenols,total flavonoids and antioxidant activity of the leaves crude extracts of locally grown pigeon pea traditionally used in Sultanate of Oman for the treatment of jaundice and diabetes

Objective:To determine the total phenols,total flavonoids and evaluate the antioxidant activity of crude extracts from the leaves of pigeon pea native to Sultanate of Oman by a popular method.Methods:The powdered leaves samples from pigeon pea were used for extraction by maceration method with methanol solvent.The methanol free crude extract by maceration method was suspended in water and successively extracted with different polarities of solvents.The obtained crude extracts with different polarities were used for the determination of total phenols and flavonoids contents by using Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and aluminum chloride methods.The antioxidant activity of six crude extracts from pigeon pea was determined byα,αα-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl method.Results:The different polarities leaves crude extracts showed a significant amount of total phenols content ranging from 97.80 to 256.00 mg of GAE/g of crude extract.The same leaves crude extracts also showed good amount of total flavonoids content ranging from 1.38 to 8.51 mg QE/g plant material.The six crude extracts from the leaves displayed significantα,αα-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging activity with highest value in chloroform extract followed by methanol,butanol,ethyl acetate,hexane and water crude extracts(98.13%,89.26%,88.82%,86.41%,79.95%and 69.44%,respectively).Conclusions:Leaves crude extracts from pigeon pea have high contents of total phenols and flavonoids.In this regards,it could be used as a medicine for the treatment of different diseases.

Response of Germination Physiology of Cajanus cajan Seeds to Drought Stress: Comparison between Karst Water and Allogenic Water Treatments

In this paper, responses of germination physiology of pigeon pea （Cajanus cajan） seeds to drought stress in karst water environment and non-karst （allogenic） water environment were studied to explore the adaptability of pigeon pea to karst environment. The results showed that： （i） Under drought stress of 20% PEG- 6000, the germination rate, vigor index, germination index and biomass of pigeon pea seeds on day 7 cultivated with karst water were all greater than that of the allogenic water treatment group, while the seed germination stress index was significantly smaller than that of the allogenic water treatment group, suggesting that karst water environment was more favorable to pigeon pea seed germination. （ii） Without drought stress, the malondialdehyde （MDA） and superoxide dismutase （SOD） activities of pigeon pea seeds cultivated with karst water were all smaller than that of the allogenic water group. However, under drought stress, the SOD activity was significantly higher than that of allogenic water group, suggesting pigeon pea SOD in karst water was able to more rapidly respond to external drought stress, and increase its own activity to reduce the damage to the plants. And （iii） with and without drought stress, the soluble protein level of the karst water group was higher than that of the allogenic water group, while the free amino acid level was lower than that of the allogenic water group. This difference was more significant with the presence of drought stress, suggesting that the karst water environment was more favorable to the accumulation of soluble proteins and thus produced larger biomass. Hence, pigeon pea is a tree species that is adapted to high-calcium, alkaline environments in karst areas, and is of great significance for the revegetation and rocky desertification control in mountainous karst areas.