Content uploaded by Shakeel Ahmad
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Shakeel Ahmad on Oct 13, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
PaPer
Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013 295
- Keywords: pea cultivars, chemical composition, Pakistan -
COMPOSITIONAL STUDIES
OF SOME PEA (pIsum satIVum L.)
SEED CULTIVARS COMMONLY CONSUMED
IN PAKISTAN
M. ZIA-UL-HAq1, S. AHMAD2, R. AMAROWICZ3 and S. ERCISLI4*
1The Patent Ofce, 2nd Floor-Kandawala Building, M.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi, Pakistan
2Department of Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan-60800, Pakistan
3 Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
Tuwima Str. 10, 10-747 Olsztyn, Poland
4Department of Horticulture, Ataturk University, Erzurum-25240, Turkey
*Corresponding author: sercisli@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The present study was aimed at evaluating the composition and nutrition of some commonly
consumed pea cultivars. The investigated parameters included proximate composition, vitamin
contents, antinutritional factors (ANF), fatty acids, tocopherols, sterols, amino acid and mineral
contents. Variability was observed among investigated cultivars in terms of amino acid and sug-
ar contents. Despite variations among sugar contents, sucrose and raffinose were noted as be-
ing present in highest and lowest concentrations, respectively, in all cultivars. The distribution
patterns of various amino acids in these cultivars suggested sulphur-containing amino acids as
limiting amino acids. Analysis showed almost similar proportions of biochemical constituents
among all cultivars. The data show that, in terms of both quality and quantity, the pea cultivars
can serve as a significant source of essential amino acids, and bioactive constituents to meet the
demand of populations of Pakistan.
296 Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013
INTRODUCTION
Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an annual self-pol-
linated food legumes used throughout Pakistan
in people of all income and age groups due to its
nutritive value and pleasant taste. Short grow-
ing duration and relatively simple production
stimulated its production making it a commer-
cial commodity. It is cultivated on 10 thousand
hectares with a total production of 82 thousand
tons in Pakistan (ASHRAF et al., 2011). The high
cost of food crops coupled with the expensive and
scarce source of animal proteins as well as the
dwindling family income, has made pea a cheap
source various food constituents for indigenous
people of Pakistan. It is used in livestock feeds
as a source of energy and protein and also in
feeds for aquatic species.
Recent researches conducted by numerous
authors (GDALA et al., 1992; ZDUN
´CZYK et al.,
1997; BASTIANELLI et al., 1998) show that pro-
gress in pea breeding results not only in higher
yields, but also in changes in the chemical com-
position of seeds. Further it is also recognized
that genotypic variation and cultivation meth-
ods are two major factors influencing levels of
chemical constituents in pea seeds (MARZO et
al., 1997).Various cultivars of pea are being used
throughout Pakistan however no detailed study
exists exploring its compositional and nutrition-
al potential. So information is needed on the bi-
ochemical composition of pea cultivars to help
understand their nutritional profiles from pro-
duction and consumption points of view. In this
context as part of our continuous studies on in-
digenous flora of Pakistan (KALEEM et al., 2012,
RIZWAN et al., 2012, ZIA-UL-HAQ et al., 2011 a,
b; 2012 a, b; 2013 a, b) we have evaluated four
commonly consumed pea varieties in Pakistan
from compositional point of view.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Material
The seeds of four pea (Pisum sativum L.) cul-
tivars, Metvor, Samrina Zard, Climax Improved,
and PF-400 were procured from Department of
Agronomy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Mul-
tan. Seeds of all the cultivars were divided into
groups for storage in stainless-steel containers
at 4oC prior to analysis.
Proximate analysis and vitamin contents
Moisture, crude fat, ash, protein and carbo-
hydrates were determined according to AOAC
International methods (AOAC, 1998) and re-
sults expressed in Table 1. Vitamin C were also
measured by AOAC method (AOAC, 1998). Thia-
mine content was determined by the thiochrome
method and riboflavin content by the fluores-
cence method (GSTIRNER, 1965). Niacin was de-
termined by a reported method (ARINATHAN et
al., 2003) (Fig. 1).
Antinutritional factors (ANF) profile
A reported method of (ODUNFA, 1983) was
used for separation of oligosaccharides by thin-
layer chromatography. 50 µL of ethanol extract
were spotted on precoated silica gel plates at 2
cm intervals along with 20 µL of reference stand-
ard mixture containing sucrose, raffinose, and
stachyose. n-propanol, ethyl acetate and water
(6:1:3 v/v) was used as solvent system. After 4 h
development of the plates, the oligosaccharides
were quantified by the guide strip technique of
(SUGIMOTO and VANBUREN, 1970). The sugars
content estimated according to the phenol-sul-
phuric acid method (DUBOIS et al., 1956). Phyt-
ic acid was determined as reported previously
(ZIA-UL-HAQ et al. 2013a) and results are shown
in Table 2.
Mineral analysis
The pea samples were incinerated at 450°C
for 12 h in a muffle furnace and acid digest was
prepared by oxidizing each sub-sample with a
nitric/perchloric acid (2:1) mixture. Aliquots
were used to estimate Na and K by flame pho-
tometer (Flame Photometer Model-EEL). The
minerals, such as calcium, manganese, mag-
nesium, zinc, iron and copper, were determined
with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer
(Perkin-Elmer Model 5000) while Phosphorus
Table 1 - Proximate composition (%) of pea cultivars.
Contents Metvor Samrina Zard Climax Improved PF-400
Total protein 20.51b±1.71 23.80a±1.66 22.37a±1.60 20.60b±1.72
Total ash 3.16c±0.19 3.54b±.18 3.72a±0.19 3.52b±0.18
Total fat 2.35b±0.05 2.19c±0.05 2.63a±0.09 2.38b±0.09
Crude ber 10.74a±1.7 9.14b±1.6 11.24a±1.2 10.99a±1.6
Total carbohydrates 56.54a±1.82 52.43a±1.73 50.86b±1.10 54.81a±1.75
Moisture 6.70c±0.31 8.90a±0.32 9.18a±0.28 7.7b±0.19
Data are expressed as means±standard; values having different letters differ signicantly (p<0.05).
Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013 297
Fig. 1 - Vitamin contents (mg/100 g) of pea cultivars. Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having
different letters differ significantly (p<0.05).
was determined by the phosphovanado-molyb-
date (yellow) method (AOAC, 1998) (Table 3).
The samples were quantified against standard
solutions of known concentration that were an-
alyzed concurrently.
Amino acid analysis
Samples (300 mg), in triplicate from each cul-
tivar, were hydrolyzed with 6 N HCl in an evacu-
Table 2 - Anti-nutritional contents (g/ kg) of pea cultivars.
Cultivars Sucrose Raffinose Stachyose Verbascose Phytic acid
Metvor 50.7b±0.10 8.43c±0.07 36.7a±0.09 14.80c±0.12 8.30a±0.13
Samrina Zard 46.4c±0.09 9.15b±0.06 33.8b±0.02 19.27a±0.15 7.25b±0.14
Climax Improved 55.9a±0.03 10.03a±0.04 27.1d±0.16 16.4b±0.17 6.19c±0.18
PF-400 48.3bc±0.08 9.29b±0.05 30.9c±0.12 18.1a±0.11 7.34b±0.06
Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having different letters differ signicantly (p<0.05).
Table 3 - Mineral composition (mg/100) g of pea cultivars.
Minerals Metvor Samrina Climax Improved PF-400 NRC/NAS
Zard pattern for infants (1989)
Sodium 111a±2.65 107b±2.38 106b±1.33 108b±1.89 113-200
Potassium 1014b±6.43 1017a±3.78 1021a±4.08 1019a±0.09 500-700
Phosphorus 284b±3.61 291a±2.13 282b±3.08 279b±2.92 500
Calcium 110a±6.24 107b±5.48 111a±4.73 108b±5.10 600
Iron 2.1ns±0.26 1.9ns±0.69 2.3ns±0.52 2.0ns±0.19 10
Copper 9.9b±0.10 10.9a±0.07 11.5a±0.04 10.2b±0.09 0.6-0.7
Zinc 3.4ns±0.20 3.1ns±0.17 3.6ns±0.11 3.2ns±0.07 5
Manganese 2.6ns±0.03 2.2ns±0.02 2.4ns±0.06 2.7ns±0.05 0.3-1
Magnesium 4.0ns±0.04 4.3ns±0.07 4.1ns±0.05 4.4ns±0.03 -
Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having different letters differ signicantly (p<0.05).
ated test tube for 24 h at 105°C. The dried res-
idue was dissolved in citrate buffer (pH 2.2) af-
ter flash evaporation. Aliquots were analysed in
an automatic amino acid analyser (Hitachi Per-
kin-Elmer Model KLA 3B), using the buffer sys-
tem described earlier (ZARKADAS et al., 1993).
Methionine and cystine were analysed sepa-
rately after performic acid treatment and sub-
sequent hydrolysis with HCl (KHALIL and DU-
RANI, 1990). Tryptophan was determined after
298 Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013
alkali (NaOH) hydrolysis by the colorimetric
method (FREIDMAN and FINELY, 1971) (Table 4).
In vitro protein digestibility
A multienzyme technique was used to meas-
ure the in vitro protein digestibility (EKPE-
NYONG and BORCHERS, 1979) as reported pre-
viously (ZIA-UL-HAQ et al., 2013a) (Fig. 2).
Table 4 - Amino acid composition (%) of pea cultivars with FAO/WHO/UNU (1985) patterns of amino acid requirements for
different age groups.
Amino acids Metvor Samrina Climax PF-400
d
2-5 years
d
10-12 years
Zard Improved
Lysine 8.0a±0.03 7.7b±0.01 7.8b±0.08 8.2a±0.03 5.8 4.4
Histidine 2.4a±0.05 2.1b±0.02 2.0b±0.01 2.4a±0.02 1.9 1.9
Isoleucine 4.5a±0.05 4.4a±0.07 4.2b±0.05 4.0c±0.07 2.8 2.8
Leucine 7.2ns±0.05 7.3ns±0.03 7.4ns±0.04 7.1ns±0.01 6.6 4.4
Cystine 1.7bs±0.08 1.9a±0.04 1.5c±0.03 1.7b±0.08 2.5
a
2.2
a
Tyrosine 3.7b±0.01 3.4c±0.06 3.9a±0.02 3.7b±0.05 6.3
b
2.2
b
Threonine 3.6ns±0.04 3.8ns±0.04 4.0ns±0.03 3.7ns±0.04 3.4 2.8
Tryptophan 0.9a±0.03 0.7c±0.09 0.8b±0.02 0.8b±0.05 1.1 0.9
Valine 5.0a±0.05 4.8c±0.08 5.0a±0.04 4.9b±0.07 3.5 2.5
Arginine 7.2a±0.03 7.3a±0.04 7.0b±0.03 7.3a±0.05
Methionine 1.3a±0.02 1.1c±0.05 1.2b±0.09 1.3a±0.02
Phenylalanine 5.3a±0.12 4.9b±0.06 4.7b±0.07 5.2a±0.08
Alanine 5.5a±0.03 5.2b±0.07 5.6a±0.05 5.4a±0.01
Aspartic acid 11.2a±0.07 11.4a±0.08 10.5b±0.07 11.0a±0.05
Glutamic acid 19.0b±0.05 20.5a±0.07 20.8a±0.09 20.2a±0.09
Glyine 4.5b±0.04 4.6b±0.05 4.9a±0.04 4.2c±0.04
Proline 3.9a±0.02 3.7a±0.03 3.5b±0.01 3.8a±0.07
Serine 4.9ns±0.03 5.3ns±0.05 5.2ns±0.08 5.1ns±0.03
Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having different letters differ signicantly (p<0.05).
d Patterns of amino acid requirements for different age groups;
b =Tyr+phe;
a=cys+meth.
Fatty acid (FA) composition
Fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were pre-
pared according to the standard of IUPAC meth-
od 2.301, and analyzed on a SHIMADZU gas chro-
matograph model 17-A with flame ionization de-
tector (FID). Separation was done on a capillary
column (30 m x 0.32 mm x 0.25 m; Supelco;
Bellefonte, Pa., USA). Nitrogen was used as a
Fig. 2 - In vitro protein digestibility (%) of pea cultivars. Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having
different letters differ significantly (p<0.05).
Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013 299
carrier gas at a flow rate of 3.0 mL/min. Col-
umn temperature was programmed from 180°
to 220°C at the rate of 3°C/min. Initial and fi-
nal temperatures were held for 2 and 10 min,
respectively. Injector and detector were kept
at 230° and 250°C, respectively. A sample vol-
ume of 1.0 L was injected with the split ra-
tio of 1:75. FAMEs were identified by compar-
ing their relative and absolute retention times
to those of authentic standards. The quantifica-
tion was done by a Chromatography Station for
Windows (CSW32) data handling software (Data
Apex Ltd. CZ-158 00 Pague 5, the Czech Repub-
lic). The fatty acid composition was reported as
a relative percentage of the total peak area and
the results were calculated as mg/100 g of pea
seeds (Table 5).
Tocopherol, sterols and squalene analysis
Samples were finely ground (1.0 mm mesh
size) using a Moulinex Optiblend 2000 and 1
g of each sample was weighed into a 25×150
mm Pyrex culture tube with Teflon-lined screw
cap. Samples were spiked with 2.5 mL internal
standard (50 g 6-ketocholesterol dissolved in
2.5 mL ethanol). Samples were hydrolysed un-
der acidic conditions by a modification of a pro-
cedure previously described by (TOIVO et al.,
2001) briefly, absolute ethanol (1 mL) and HCl
(6M, 5 mL) were added to each tube and samples
were shaken vigorously. Tubes were then kept at
80°C for 1 h in a water bath, during which tubes
were shaken every 10 min. The tubes were then
cooled on ice and 5 mL ethanol, 10 ml hexane/
diethyl-ether (1:1, v/v) were added to each sam-
ple. Tubes were vortexed (1 min) and then cen-
trifuged at 1,000 rpm (10 min). The upper sol-
vent layer was removed and the extraction re-
peated with a further 10 mL hexane/diethyl-
ether. The combined extracts were dried under
nitrogen and stored in a refrigerator until sapon-
ified by a procedure previously described (MAGU-
IRE et al., 2004) for phytosterols, squalene and
tocopherols analysis by HPLC. The HPLC sys-
tem consisted of a Waters 510 pump and a Wa-
ters 717 plus autosampler (Waters Corporation,
Milford, Massachusetts, USA). For phytoster-
ol analyses, 20 L sample was injected onto a
Luna C8 (2) column (250×4.6 mm i.d.; Phenom-
enex, Cheshire, UK). Detection was done by a
Waters 995 photodiode array detector. The mo-
bile phase was 80% acetonitrile and 20% water
at a flow rate of 1.6 mL/min. Column temper-
ature was maintained at 50°C. The HPLC sys-
tem used for squalene and tocopherol analysis
was the same, except the column used was a
Supelcosil LC-18-DB (250×4.6 mm i.d.; Supel-
co, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA). Concerning
tocopherol analysis, reverse phase chromatog-
raphy does not distinguish between the β-and
γ-isomers of tocopherol, thus the sum of these
isomers is shown throughout as β+γ-tocopherol
(Table 6 and Fig. 3).
Statistical analysis
Analyses were performed in triplicate and
values marked by the same letter in same col-
umn of same class are not significantly differ-
ent (P < 0.05). Data were analyzed by using the
“MSTATC” statistical computer package.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Compositional studies
Peas enjoy the distinction of being an impor-
tant constituent of diets of the people of Paki-
stan as an excellent and inexpensive source of
Table 5 - Fatty acid profile of pea cultivars.
Fatty acid Metvor Samrina Zard Climax Improved PF-400
16:0 10.57b±0.03 11.67a±0.05 12.21a±0.09 11.98a±0.07
16:1 0.09b±0.02 0.13a±0.04 0.07b±0.03 0.06b±0.09
17:0 0.19a±0.09 0.09b±0.02 0.21a±0.04 0.25a±0.06
18:0 3.04a±0.07 2.72b±0.08 2.95a±0.05 2.68b±0.01
18:1 28.41a±0.08 26.31b±0.05 25.05c±0.08 26.16b±0.07
18:2 47.49a±0.05 46.98b±0.03 47.77a±0.05 46.89b±0.05
18:3 9.77b±0.07 11.21a±0.2 10.99a±0.01 11.43a±0.06
20:0 0.24c±0.04 0.39a±0.01 0.31b±0.05 0.27bc±0.04
20:1 0.20c±0.01 0.50a±0.03 0.44a±0.07 0.28b±0.08
Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having different letters differ signicantly (p<0.05).
Table 6 - Squalene, α-Tocopherol and β+γ-Tocopherol content
(mg/100 g) of pea cultivars.
Cultivar Squalene α-Tocopherol β+γ-Tocopherol
Metvor 1.7a±0.03 11.6b±0.05 5.5ns±0.02
Samrina Zard 0.5b±0.01 12.4b±0.01 4.9ns±0.04
Climax Improved 0.6b±0.02 10.9b±0.03 5.3ns±0.07
PF-400 0.9b±0.04 13.3a±0.02 5.1ns±0.05
Data are expressed as means±standard deviations; values having dif-
ferent letters differ signicantly (p<0.05).
300 Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013
protein, fatty acids, essential amino acids, vita-
mins and minerals. The data on the proximate
composition, along with some of antinutritional
factors is summarized in Table 1. The carbohy-
drates showed a range from 52 to 58%. As pea
seeds have high content of high-quality starch
(MCLEAN et al., 1974), these can serve as a very
good source of energy as well as protein for milk
cows at a lower production level or in the declin-
ing stage of lactation period (KHORASANI et al.,
1992). The observed range for chemical compo-
sition is close to that reported earlier (COSTA et
al., 2006).
Vitamin contents (Fig. 1) differed from that al-
ready measured (VIDAL-VALVERDE et al., 2003;
URBANO et al., 2005; MORYMA and OBA, 2008).
The reason may be that measurements units
differed from previous work. Similarly agroge-
oclimatological conditions also affect vitamin
contents percentage in legume seeds. Vitamin
C contents are different from reported earlier
(MICHIE and KAZUKO, 2008). Food levels of vita-
min C and flavonoids not only vary greatly de-
pending on species and variety, growing loca-
tion, harvesting time, storage, processing, and
other conditions, but also with respect to meth-
odological differences (ADRIAN et al., 2004).Vita-
min C and the flavonoids are both very strong
antioxidant agents and their biological activities
are in part synergistic (ISLER et al., 1988). Vita-
min C is essential for connective tissue forma-
tion and maintenance, immune system stimula-
tion, works as anti-oxidant, and enhances iron
utilization among other roles (SHRIMPTON, 1993).
As for mineral substances (Table 2), potas-
sium and phosphorus dominate while the cal-
cium content is relatively low. Potassium con-
Fig. 3 - β-Sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol content (mg/100 g) of pea cultivars. Da ta ar e exp resse d as me ans±sta ndard de-
viations; values having different letters differ significantly (p<0.05).
tent ranged from 1,014 mg/100 g in Metvor
to 1,021 mg/100 g in Climax Improved. Sodi-
um was found in lower quantity in Climax Im-
proved (106 mg/100 g) while Climax Improved
had the highest iron (2.3 mg/100 g) content.
All cultivars contained good amounts of calci-
um, zinc and copper. The results correspond to
those already reported for Pea in Pakistan (AM-
JAD et al., 2006). These results revealed that
peas may provide a sufficient amount of min-
erals to meet the human mineral requirement
(NRC/NAS, 1989). However, excess of one min-
eral may prevent others being absorbed and uti-
lized properly. A significant decrease of systol-
ic blood pressure has been reported with calci-
um supplementation for the hypertensive per-
sons, since magnesium works in conjunction
with calcium to help in transmitting nerve im-
pulse to the brain (ALLENDER et al., 2006; HALL-
FRISCH et al., 2000). Mineral supplementation
can be used as an alternative approach to cor-
rect this imbalance.
The data (Table 4) indicated that all essential
amino acids, except s-containing types and tryp-
tophan, are present in excessive amounts in all
the cultivars analyzed. Pea seeds have relatively
favorable lysine content, but the content of me-
thionine and tryptophan has to be are very low.
Results are comparable to those of earlier work-
ers (AMJAD et al., 2006). These types of result
are also obtained for chickpea. Amino acid defi-
ciency can be met by consuming large amounts
of legumes, or by taking a mixture of legumes,
or by employing the complementarity that exists
between high sulphur amino acid cereals and
legumes, especially the soybean (ZIA-UL-HAQ et
al., 2007, 2011).
Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013 301
In vitro protein digestibility data (Fig. 2) re-
vealed that values are lowest in PF-400 and high-
est in Climax Improved. A considerable variation
has been reported for pea protein digestibility in
the literature (VIDAL-VALVERDE et al., 2003). Di-
gestibility of legume proteins is poor. However, it
can be improved through heat-treatments, e.g.
cooking, autoclaving and roasting.
Data about the qualitative and quantitative
composition of fatty acids are summarized in
Table 5. Fatty acid profile of all pea cultivars
reveals the lipids as a good source of the nu-
tritionally essential linoleic and oleic acids. Li-
noleic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid were
the dominating fatty acids. The nutritional val-
ue of linoleic acid is due to its metabolism at
tissue levels which produce the hormone-like
prostaglandins. The activity of these prosta-
glandins includes lowering of blood pressure
and constriction of smooth muscle (AURAND et
al., 1987). Linoleic and linolenic acids are the
most important essential fatty acids required
for growth, physiological functions and mainte-
nance. Most of the fatty acids were unsaturated
fatty acids, while saturated fatty acids (main-
ly, palmitic acid) contributed little of the total
fatty acids content. The fatty acid composition
and high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids
make pea a special legume, suitable for nutri-
tional applications. The presence of high lev-
els of unsaturated fatty acids, in all the pres-
ently studied cultivars, is nutritionally desira-
ble and results are comparable with some edi-
ble legumes (RYAN et al., 2007).
Our results (Table 6 and Fig. 3) indicated that
the pea seeds are exceptionally a rich source of
tocopherols and sterols. Our values are in line
with that reported earlier (RYAN et al., 2007).
Regional and cultivars variations for the distri-
bution of campesterol, stigmasterol, b-sitoster-
ol, D5, avenasterol and clerosterol have already
been reported in the literature. As with many of
the other traits, no previously reported data on
the tocopherol and sterol contents of pea seeds
from Pakistan are available in literature. Phytos-
terols are supposed to have a wide range of ef-
fects like anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, and
anticarcinogenic activities (BERGER et al., 2004).
Several studies have indicated that plant sterols
inhibit the intestinal absorption of cholesterol,
thereby lowering total plasma cholesterol and low-
density lipoprotein (LDL) levels (DEJONG et al.,
2003). Squalene is believed to be an important
dietary cancer chemopreventive agent (SMITH,
2000). It also has been shown to act as an anti-
dote to reduce accidental drug-induced toxicities
(SENTHILKUMAR et al., 2006). It has been dem-
onstrated to be a potent quencher of singlet ox-
ygen, (KOHNO et al., 1995). The tocopherol con-
tent in food is inversely associated with mortal-
ity from cardiovascular disease. In addition, to-
copherols, due to their capacity to quench free
radical damage, play a putative role in preven-
tion of Alzheimer’s disease and cancer (TUCKER
and TOWNSEND, 2005).
Anti-nutritional contents
Pea seeds although highly digestible, con-
tain some antinutritional substances that limit
their consumption and utilization. Among these
are the indigestible oligosaccharides, raffinose,
stachyose, and verbascose. These sugars are not
utilized by monogastric animals, including hu-
mans, who lack the specific α-galactosidase en-
zyme needed to digest those however their low
concentration precludes any significance in hu-
man nutrition. Phytic acid and sugar contents
(Table 2) are close to investigated earlier. (VID-
AL-VALVERDE et al., 2003). Intensive breeding
efforts have helped to reduce the content and
range of antinutritional substances. It is also
recognized that varieties with a higher content
of antinutritional substances produce higher
yields, possibly due to the existence of mecha-
nisms of higher resistance of these varieties to
diseases and animal predators. Further theses
antinutritional contents may be removed by dif-
ferent processing methods.
CONCLUSION
Current study indicated that peas are a good
source of vitamins like thiamine, niacin and ri-
boflavin and much needed iron, but relatively
poor source of calcium and sulphur containing
amino acids. Anti-nutritional contents present in
pea seeds may be reduced by various treatments.
In recent years, area, production and produc-
tivity of pea in Pakistan has showed an impres-
sive positive annual growth. Concerted efforts
are needed to evaluate and, introduce improved
pea cultivars with high yield potential and dis-
ease resistance with passage of time. The wide-
spread use and diversity of pea products bodes
well for the crops future and attests to its ver-
satility as food and feed.
REFERENCES
Adrian A.F., Laurie J.C., Christi, A. and Suzanne P.M. 2004.
Vitamin C and flavonoid levels of fruits and vegetables
consumed in Hawaii. J. Food Comp. Anal. 17: 1-35.
Allender P.S., Cutler J.A., Follmann D., Cappuccio F.P., Pry-
er J. and Elliott P. 1996. Dietary calcium and blood pres-
sure: a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Ann.
Inter. Med. 124: 825-31.
Amjad L., Khalil A.L., Ateeq N. and Khan M. S. 2006. Nu-
tritional quality of important food legumes. Food Chem.
97:331-335.
AOAC. 1998. “Official Methods of Analysis”. 13th Ed. Asso-
ciation of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, DC.
Arinathan V., Mohan V.R. and DeBritto J.A. 2003. Chem-
ical composition of certain tribal pulses in South India.
Int. J. Food Sci. Nut. 54: 209-217.
Ashraf I., Pervez M.A. Amjad M. and Ahmad R. 2011. Ef-
302 Ital. J. Food Sci., vol. 25 - 2013
fect of varying irrigation frequencies on growth, yield and
quality of pea seed. J. Agric. Res. 49:339-353.
Aurand L.W., Woods A.E. and Wells M.R. 1987. Food com-
position and analysis. Van Nostrand Reinhold Compa-
ny, New York, USA.
Bastianelli D., Grosjean F., Peyronnet C., Duparque M. and
Regnier J.M. 1998. Feeding value of pea (Pisum sativum,
L.) 1. Chemical composition of different categories of pea.
Anim. Sci. 67: 609-619.
Berger A., Jones P.J.H. and Abumweis S.S. 2004. Plant ster-
ols: factors affecting their efficacy and safety as func-
tional food ingredients. http://www.lipidworld.com/con-
tent/3/1/5.
Costa G., Queiroz-Monici K.S., Reis S.M.P.M., Oliveira A.C.
2006. Chemical composition, dietary fibre and resistant
starch contents of raw and cooked pea, common bean,
chickpea and lentil legumes. Food Chem. 94: 327-330.
DeJong N., Plat J. and Mensink R.P. 2003. Metabolic effects
of plant sterols and stanols. J. Nutr. Biochem. 4: 362-369.
Dubois M., Gilles K.A., Hamilton J.K., Rebers P.A. and Smith
F. 1956. Colorimetric method for determination of sug-
ars and related substances. Ann. Chem. 28: 350-356.
Ekpenyong T.E. and Borchers R.L. 1979. Digestibility of pro-
teins of winged bean seed. J. Food Sci. Tech. 16: 92-95.
FAO/WHO/UNU. 1985. Energy and Protein Requirements
(Report of a Joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation,
Meetings Series No 724). WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.
Freidman M. and Finely J.W. 1971. Methods of tryptophan
analysis. J. Agr. Food Chem.19: 626-631.
Gdala J., Buraczewska L. and Grala W. 1992. The chem-
ical composition of different types and varieties of pea
and the digestion of their protein in pigs. J. Anim. Feed
Sci. 1: 71-79.
Gstirner F. 1965. Chemisch-phisikalische Vitaminbestim-
mungs-methoden. Ferdinand Enke Verlag, Stuttgart.
Hallfrisch J., Veillon C., Patterson K., Hall A.D., Benn I.,
Holiday B., Burns R., Zhonnie S., Price F. and Sorenson
A. 2000. Bone-related mineral content of water samples
collected on the Navajo reservation. Toxic.149: 143-148.
Hsu H.W., Vavak D.L., Satterlee L.D. and Miller G.A. 1977.
A multienzyme technique for estimating protein digesti-
bility. J. Food Sci. 42: 1269-1271.
Isler O., Brubacher G. and Kiss J. 1988. Skorbut, vitamin
C und bioflavonoide. In: O. Isler, G. Brubacher, S. Ghis-
la and B. Krautler (Eds.), pp. 390-395.Vitamine II: Was-
serlosliche vitamine. Thieme, Stuttgart.
Kaleem W.A., Nisar M., Qayum M., Zia-Ul-Haq M., Adhikari
A. and DeFeo V. 2012. Anti-bacterial activities of cyclo-
peptide alkaloids from Zizyphus oxyphylla Edgew. Int. J.
Mol. Sci. 13: 11520-11529.
Khalil L. A. and Durani F.R. 1990. Haulm and Hull of peas as
a protein source in animal feed. Sarhad J. Agr. 6:219-225.
Khorasani G.R., Okine E.K., Corbett R.R. and Kenelly J.J.
1992. Peas for dairy cattle. In: “71st Annual Feeders Day
Report”, Animal Science Department, University of Alber-
ta, Edmonton. pp.28.
Kohno Y., Egawa Y., Itoh S., Nagaoka S., Takahashi M.
and Mukai K. 1995. Kinetic study of quenching reac-
tion of singlet oxygen and scavenging reaction of free
radicals by squalene in n-butanol. Biochem. Biophys.
Acta. 1256: 52-56.
Maguire L.S., OSullivan S.M., Galvin K., O’Connor T.P.
and O’Brien N.M. 2004. Fatty acid profile, tocopherol,
squalene and phytosterol content of walnuts, almonds,
peanuts, hazelnuts and the macadamia nut. Int. J. Food
Sci. Nutr. 55:171-178.
Marzo F., Andres A., Marıa V.C. and Ruben A.1997. Fer-
tilization effects of phosphorus and sulfur on chemical
composition of seeds of Pisum sativum L. and relative
infestation by Bruchus pisorum L. J. Agric. Food Chem.
45:1829-1833.
McLean L.A., Sosulski F.W. and Youngs C.G. 1974. Effect of
nitrogen and moisture on yield and protein in field peas.
Can. J. Plant. Sci. 54: 301-305.
Michie M. and Kazuko O. 2008. Comparative study on vita-
min c contents of legume seeds. J. Nutr Sci. Vitaminol.
54: 1-6.
Moryma M. and Oba K. 2008.Comparative study on vitamin
c contents of legume seeds. J. Nut. Sci. Vitaminol. 54:1-6.
NRC/NAS. 1989. Recommended dietary allowances. Wash-
ington DC, USA, National Academy Press, p. 302.
Odunfa S.A. 1983. Carbohydrate changes in fermenting lo-
custbean (Parkia filicoidea) during iru preparation. Plant
Food Human Nutr. 32: 3-10.
Rizwan K., Zubair M., Rasool N., Riaz M., Zia-Ul-Haq M.,
DeFeo V. 2012. Chemical and biological study of Agave
attenuata. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 13: 6440-6451.
Ryan E., Galvin K., Connor T.P.O, Maguire A.R. and Brien
N.M.O. 2007. Phytosterol, squalene, tocopherol con-
tent and fatty acid profile of selected seeds, grains, and
legu me s. Plant Food. Hum. Nutr. 62: 85-91.
Senthilkumar S., Devaki T., Manohar B.M. and Babu M.S.
2006. Effect of squalene on cyclophosphamide-induced
toxicity. Clin. Chim. Acta 364:335-342.
Shrimpton D.H. 1993. Nutritional aspects of Vitamins. In:
“The technology of Vitamins in food”, P.B. Ottaway (Ed.),
pp.2-25. Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Smith T.J. 2000. Squalene: potential chemopreventive
agent. Exp. Opin. Invest. Drug. 9:1841-1848.
Sugimoto H. and VanBuren J.P. 1970. Removal of oligosac-
charides from soymilk by an enzyme from Aspergillus sai-
to. J. Food Sci. 35: 655-660.
Toivo J., Philips K., Lampi A.M. and Piironen V. 2001. Deter-
mination of sterols in foods: Recovery of free, esterified,
and glycosidic sterols. J. Food Comp. Anal. 14: 631-643.
Tucker J.M. and Townsend D.M. 2005. Alpha-tocopherol:
roles in prevention and therapy of human disease. Bi-
omed. Pharm. 59: 380-387.
Urbano G., López-Jurado M., Frejnagel S., Gómez-Villalvaa
E., Porres J.M., Frías J., Vidal-Valverde C. and Aranda P.
2005. Nutritional assessment of raw and germinated pea
(Pisum sativum L.) protein and carbohydrate by in vitro
and in vivo techniques. Nutr. 21: 230-239.
Vidal-Valverde C., Frias J., Hernandez A., Martın-Alvarez
P.J., Sierra I., Rodrıguez C., Blazquez I. and Vicente G.
2003. Assessment of nutritional compounds and anti-
nutritional factors in pea (Pisum sativum) seeds. J. Sci.
Food Agric. 83:298-306.
Zarkadas C.G., Voldeng H.D., Yu Z. and Minero-Amador A.
1993. Assessment of the protein quality of new high-pro-
tein soya bean cultivars by amino acid analysis. J. Agri.
Food Chem. 41:616-623.
Zdun´czyk Z., Godycka I. and Amarowicz R. 1997. Chemical
composition and content of antinutritional factors in Pol-
ish cultivars of peas. Plant Food Hum. Nutr. 50: 37-45.
Zia-Ul-Haq M., Ahmad S., Shad M.A., Iqbal S., Qayum M.,
Ahmad A., Luthria D.L. and Amarowicz R. 2011a. Com-
positional studies of some of lentil cultivars common-
ly consumed in Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot. 43: 1563-1567.
Zia-Ul-Haq M., Ahmad S., Calani L., Mazzeo T., Rio D.D.,
Pellegrini N. and DeFeo V. 2012a. Compositional study
and antioxidant potential of Ipomoea hederacea Jacq.
and Lepidium sativum L. seeds. Mol. 17:10306-10321.
Zia-Ul-Haq M., Ahmad S., Qayum M. and Ercis¸li S. 2013a.
Compositional studies and antioxidant potential of Albi-
zia Lebbeck (L.) Benth. Tur. J. Bio. 37:1-10.
Zia-Ul-Haq M., Ahmed S., Rizwani G.H., Qayum M., Ah-
mad S. and Hanif M. 2012b. Platelet aggregation inhibi-
tion activity of selected flora of Pakistan. Pak. J. Pharm.
Sci. 25:863-865.
Zia-Ul-Haq M., C
´avar S., Qayum M., Imran I. and DeFeo V.
2011b. Compositional studies: antioxidant and antidia-
betic activities of Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew. Int.
J. Mol. Sci. 12: 8846-8861.
Zia-Ul-Haq M., Landa P., Kutil Z., Qayum M. and Ahmad S.
2013b. Evaluation of anti-inflammatory activity of select-
ed legumes from Pakistan: In vitro inhibition of cyclooxy-
genase-2. Pak. J. Pharm. Sci. 26:85-89.
Paper received August 6, 2012 Accepted January 5, 2013
