Role of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) in human nutrition and health: A review

Abstract

Legumes and cereals are good, relatively inexpensive, sources of proteins and energy for third world countries, including India. India is a major pulse producing country, sharing 36 and 28% of total area and production of these crops. Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) is widely consumed in the form of dhal as an economical source of protein. It is a dense source of nutrients, but its nutritional elements are masked by some anti-nutritional factors decreased by different processing methods. The non-nutritive compounds of pigeon pea have been investigated for their role in the enhancement of the antioxidant and anti carcinogenic effects. Recent evidences suggest that pigeon pea bioactive compounds play a vital role in modulating the gut micribiota hence, can reduce inflammation. The Prebiotic potential of non digestible raffinose family oligosaccharides has also been investigated in animal models. Research on pigeon pea prebiotic oligosaccharide and health benefits is scanty and some research regarding this novel approach remains inconclusive and there is still much to be studied. This review article focuses on the nutritional, anti-nutritional factors bioactive compounds and other health benefits of pigeon pea.

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AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION CENTRE
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*Corresponding author’s e-mail: dr_devindra@rediffmail.com
Asian J. Dairy & Food Res, 37(3) 2018: 212-220
Print ISSN:0971-4456 / Online ISSN:0976-0563
Role of pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L.) in human nutrition and health: A review
Aruna Talari and Devindra Shakappa*
Department of Dietetics,
National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad-500 007, Telangana, India.
Received: 08-06-2018 Accepted: 06-09-2018 DOI: 10.18805/ajdfr.DR-1379
ABSTRACT
Legumes and cereals are good, relatively inexpensive, sources of proteins and energy for third world countries, including
India. India is a major pulse producing country, sharing 36 and 28% of total area and production of these crops. Pigeon pea
(Cajanus cajan L.) is widely consumed in the form of dhal as an economical source of protein. It is a dense source of
nutrients, but its nutritional elements are masked by some anti-nutritional factors decreased by different processing methods.
The non-nutritive compounds of pigeon pea have been investigated for their role in the enhancement of the antioxidant and
anti carcinogenic effects. Recent evidences suggest that pigeon pea bioactive compounds play a vital role in modulating
the gut micribiota hence, can reduce inflammation. The Prebiotic potential of non digestible raffinose family oligosaccharides
has also been investigated in animal models. Research on pigeon pea prebiotic oligosaccharide and health benefits is scanty
and some research regarding this novel approach remains inconclusive and there is still much to be studied. This review article
focuses on the nutritional, anti-nutritional factors bioactive compounds and other health benefits of pigeon pea.
Key words: Anti-nutrients, Oligosaccharides, Pigeon pea, Prebiotics.
Abbreviations
IYP International year of pulses
RFO Raffinose family oligosaccharides
PUFA Poly unsaturated fatty acids
RDI Recommended daily intake
HDL High density lipoprotein
LDL Low density lipoprotein
NHANES National Health and Nutrition Exami na tion Survey
LPO Lipid peroxidation
CSA Cajaninstillbene acid
TNF -α Tumor necrosis factor alpha
IL- 1β Interleukin 1 beta
SCD Sickle cell disease
AIN American Institute of Nutrition
LPO Lipid Peroxidation
Food legumes are of major importance in the human
diet contributing as the major source of vegetable protein.
Nowadays, pulses are gaining much interest in the area of
functional foods. The 68th UN General Assembly announced
2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). The IYP 2016
aims at public awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses
and towards the food security and nutrition (International
Year of Pulses 2016).
India ranks high in the production of pulses. Pigeon
pea, chickpea, black gram, green gram, lentils and peas are
major pulses consumed. Among legumes, pigeon pea is
predominantly grown and consumed in India. It is also known
as red gram, arhar, tur dal belonging to the family of Legumi
nosae. Pigeon pea was long considered to be one of the two
species of the genus Cajanus DC. The cultivation of the
pigeon pea dates back to at least 3,500 years and is assumed
that eastern part of peninsular India is the center of origin
(Van der Maeson 1995).
Pigeon pea is accepted in many parts of the world
since it is very much resistant to drought (ICRISAT). Pigeon
pea seeds compliment cereals such as corn, maize, wheat
and rice. It forms a good portion of the human diet in many
African, Asian and South American countries as well. Pigeon
pea is the economical source of protein, carbohydrate,
minerals and vitamins such as B-complex particularly in the
vegetarian diet. Along with the cereals pigeon pea provide
well balanced diet and can be comparable to other dense
protein sources like whey and soy (Akporhonor et al. 2006).
Besides its nutritional value, pigeon pea also
possesses various medicinal properties due to the presence
of a number of polyphenols and flavonoids (Singh 2016).
The nutritional components of pigeon pea are considered
crucial for human nutrition, and it is evident from several
studies that consumption of pigeon pea is associated with a
lower risk of several diseases (Singh and Basu 2012).
In India, red gram is mostly consumed in the form
of dhal (decorticated split cotyledons), after cooking in water,
to the desirable degree of softness and immature green seeds
are used as vegetable. Nowadays pigeon pea is incorporated
into food products like biscuits, noodles, pasta, sausages as
a novel ingredient for nutritional purposes, owing to its high
fibre and protein content, gluten-free status, low glycemic

Volume 37 Issue 3 (September 2018) 213
Table1: Proximate composition of pigeon pea (g/100g).
Proximate Oke, (2014) Eltayeb et al. (2010) Olalekan & Bosede, (2010) Adamu, (2013) Kunyunga et al. (2013)
Moisture 11.20 8.0 8.45±0.95 0.24 11.27±0.04
protein 22.40 21.0 24.46±0.32 30.53 17.95±0.06
fat 2.74 1.7 4.78±0.22 3.68 2.77±0.57
Carbohydrate 48.19 63.6 56.63±0.48 50.08 57.45±0.04
Fibre 7.25 2.5 1.10±0.10 5.54 6.98±0.08
Ash 8.22 3.2 4.58±0.40 9.93 3.58±0.21
index, antioxidant levels, as well as functional properties
like fat absorption and water binding capacity (Keshav 2015).
Till date several authors have reviewed the
nutritional quality and health benefits of pigeon pea in
relation to its bioactive compounds. This narrative review
article is aimed at reviewing the recent advances in research
carried out till date for the purposes of evaluation of
nutritional quality and health benefits of newly cultivated
pigeon pea including its novel prebiotic potential. The
updated findings on the effect of pigeon pea consumption in
animals and human health are summerized.
Nutritional composition of pigeon pea
Proximate composition: The proximate compositions such
as moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate, ash and dietary fiber
of pigeon pea is shown in Table 1 (Oke 2014., Eltayeb et al.
2010., Olalekan and Bosede 2010., Adamu and Oyetunde
2013., Kunyanga et al. 2013). The pigeon pea seed is made
up of 85% cotyledon, 14% seed coat, and about 1% embryo.
It is a rich source of protein, carbohydrates, minerals and
vitamins. It’s protein content ranges between 20-22% CHO
between 51.4 – 58.8%, Crude fibre between 1.2 – 8.1% and
lipid between 0.6 – 3.8% (Faris 1990).
Carbohydrates: The starch and non-starch are the major
constituents of carbohydrates of pigeon pea consisting of
significant amount of α-galactosides. Different carbohydrate
fractions of pigeon pea are (i) available carbohydrates which
are digested in the small intestine and (ii) unavailable
carbohydrates like oligosaccharides, resistant starch, non-
cellulosic polysaccharides, pectins, hemicelluloses, and
cellulose, which are not digested in the small intestine
(Cummings 2007).
The available and unavailable carbohydrate content
of pigeon pea is summarized in Table 2 (Jairo et al. 1991.,
Mulimani and Devindra 1998., Apata 2008., Devindra et al.
2012). The unavailable carbohydrates of pigeon pea like
fructans and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) are
the major water soluble carbohydrates which adversely affect
bioavailability of certain vital nutrients.
Glycemic carbohydrate: Carbohydrates which provide
glucose for metabolism is referred to as ‘glycaemic
carbohydrate’, whereas carbohydrates that reaches the large
intestine prior to being metabolized, are called as ‘non-
glycaemic carbohydrate’. Most of the available carbo-
hydrates, some oligosaccharides and rapidly digested
starches may be classified as a glycaemic carbohydrate
(Cummings 2007).
In a study cooked legumes including pigeon pea,
chickpea, black gram, mung bean and white bean were tested
for blood glucose response among healthy human subjects.
The glycemic response to pigeon pea was 30.99 (Panlasigui
2009). Recently Devindra et al. (2016) have reported the
lower glycemic index of pigeon pea among the commonly
consumed legumes tested.
Amino acid profile: Generally the sulphur containing amino
acids (methionine and cystine) are limiting in pulses. The
amino acid profile of pigeon peas is summarized in Table 3
Table 2: Available and unavailable carbohydrate content of pigeon pea (g/100g*).
Type of CHO Jairo et al. (1991) Mulimani & Devindra (1998) Apata (2008) Devindra et al. (2012)
Available CHO
(Oligosaccharide)
Raffinose 0.77 0.62 0.5 1.42±0.03
Stachyose 2.37 1.06 2.90 1.75±0.04
Verbascose 0.43 4.00 — 4.95±0.28
Reducing sugars — 1.20 0.52 0.91±0.01
Glucose 0.14 — — —
Fructose 0.40 — — —
Sucrose 4.02 1.16 2.01 2.32±0.07
Total soluble — 6.64 — 6.18±0.03
Unavailable CHO
Non-cellulosic — — 14.00 —
Polysaccharides
Cellulose — — 9.84 —
Lignin — — 3.40 —

214 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY AND FOOD RESEARCH
Table 3: Amino acid profiles of pigeon pea.
Amino acid Akande et al.,(2010) Nwokolo,(1987) Kunyanga et al., , Ade-Omowaye et al.
(g/ 16gN) (g/ 100g) (2013) (g/ 100g) (2015) (g/ kg)
Lysine 7.79 7.4 0.25- 14.77
Histidine 3.66 5.0 0.66 7.93
Arginine 5.86 6.9 1.11 13.51
Aspartic acid 11.56 9.9 1.84 22.55
Threonine 3.12 3.7 0.72 8.25
Serine 3.59 4.9 0.99 1.42
Glutamic acid 9.23 19.7 3.14 43.31
Proline 3.17 4.8 0.85 1.44
Glycine 3.07 4.2 0.69 7.85
Alanine 3.79 4.6 0.91 9.72
Cystine 1.19 0.8 0.24 5.47
Valine 5.85 4.4 1.09 8.67
Methionine 1.19 1.1 0.23 2.65
Isoleucine 3.47 3.7 0.64 7.71
Leucine 6.78 7.8 1.38 16.48
Tyrosine 2.63 2.9 0.47 5.52
Phenylalanine 6.15 8.9 1.69 22.19
Tryptophan ND — 0.15 ——
(Nwokolo 1987., Akande et al. 2010., Ade-Omowaye et al.
2015., Longvah et al. 2017). Pigeon pea seeds contain high
amounts of lysine, leucine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and
arginine and provide essential amino acids when consumed
with cereals and other sulphur containing amino acids (Ade-
Omowaye et al. 2015). In a study Pigeon pea can replace
soybean without adversely affecting the performance of
rabbits (Adamu and Oyetunde 2013).
Fatty Acid Profile: The major saturated fatty acid in pigeon
pea is the palmitic acid which constitutes 15-25% in the
neutral lipids, 20-40% in the glycolipids, and 26-30% in the
phospholipids. The fatty acid profile of pigeon pea is
summarized in Table 4. A study was conducted to know the
nutritional potential of nine underexploited legumes in
Southwest Nigeria. The most abundant polyunsaturated fatty
acid (PUFA) identified in pigeon pea was linoleic acid
(C18:2) (Ade-Omowaye et al., 2015).
Caprylic, lauric, oleic and eicosanoic acids were
present only in small quantities. The resistant starch derived
from processed red gram showed a higher amount of short
chain fatty acids. Whereas Indian food composition tables
reported the palmitic acid content of pigeon pea as 236 ±
11.0, oleic acid was 78.55± 6.71, stearic acid was 40.95±
3.31 mg/100g respectively (Longvah et al. 2017).
Vitamin and mineral content: Pigeon pea is a good source
of water soluble vitamins, like thiamine, riboflavin, niacin
etc. Vitamin content of pigeon pea is summarized in Table 5.
Pigeon pea was reported to be the richest vegetable for
Vitamin C with 569 mg/100g. Its content was three times
higher than for peppers and could cover more than 949% of
the recommended daily intake (RDI) of Vitamin C and pigeon
pea was found to have high carotenoid content with 364.3
µg/100g when compared to other pulses (Ellong et al., 2015).
Whereas Indian food composition tables reported the thiamin
content of pigeon pea as 0.74 , riboflavin 0.15, niacin, panto
thenic acid 1.56, total B6 0.42,biotin 0.65, total folates 229
mg/ 100g respectively (Longvah et al., 2017).There are limi
ted studies on the lutein and zeaxanthin levels in pigeon pea.
Pigeon pea is a good source of minerals such as
phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, sulphur and
potassium but low in sodium (Kunyanga et al. 2013). Mineral
content of pigeon pea is summarized in Table 6. Sangle,
(2015) have reported minerals constituents of two viable
mutant varieties of pigeon pea. Mean content of nitrogen
ranged from 1.95%- 3.33% and 2.24% - 3.17%, calcium
content ranged from 0.25% - 0.37% and 0.26% - 0.51% and
phosphorus content of viable mutants ranged from 0.56 % -
0.72 % and 0.58% - 0.80% in varieties of pigeon pea
respectively (Sangle, 2015).Whereas Indian food
composition tables reported the calcium content of pigeon
pea as 1.39, copper 1.32, iron 5.37 mg/100g respectively
(Longvah et al. 2017).
Anti-nutritional factors: Like other legume seeds Pigeon
pea seeds also contain some anti-nutritional factors including
phytolectins, polyphenols (phenols and tannins) and enzyme
inhibitors (trypsin, chymotrypsin, and amylase). Different anti-
nutritional factors of pigeon pea are summarized in Table 7
(Harris et al. 2014., Nwaogu and Emejulu 2010., Nwosu et
al. 2013., Balogun 2013., Aja et al. 2015a). These anti-
nutritional factors can be reduced by different processing
methods like chemical soaking (Devindra and Aruna 2016).
Germination was found to be the best method for decreasing
the phytic acid content of pigeon pea. Application of
gamma irradiation can be used as an effective method of
preservation of pigeon pea flour and their products
(Bamidele and Akanbi 2013).

Volume 37 Issue 3 (September 2018) 215
Table 5: Vitamin content of pigeon pea (mg/100g).
Vitamins Longvah et al., (2017) Faris et al., (1987) Kanyunga et al., (2013) Singh et al., (2016)
(mg/100g) (mg /g) (mg /g) (mg/g)
Β-Carotene — — 0.05±0.03 0.6
Thiamin (V-B1) 0.74±0.028 0.40 0.72±0.08 0.18
Riboflavin (V-B2) 0.15±0.015 0.17 0.14±0.33 2.9
Niacin 2.42±0.18 2.20 2.90±0.10 —
Ascorbic acid (V-C) — NA 4.80±0.00 —
Pantothenic acid 1.56±0.13 0.68 — 1.26
Pyridoxine — 0.07 — 0.28
Tocopherol (γ+α) — 0.39 — —
Folic acid * (µg/100g) — 173 100.00 456
Total folate 229±19.0 — — —
Table 6: Mineral composition of pigeon pea.
Minerals Longvah et al. Olaleken & Bosede Nwokolo (1987) Kunyanga et al., (2013)
(mg/100g) (2017) (mg/g) (2010) (mg/kg) (mg/100g)
Calcium 1.39±11.8 0.65±0.03 1500 80.50±1.22
Magnesium — 1.55±0.01 1410 108.00±0.02
Copper 1.32±0.15 0.56±0.03 18 —
Iron 5.37±1.36 0.36±0.03 39 5.60±1.41
Zinc 2.3 1.54±0.10 24 2.70±0.00
Sodium — — — 0.33±0.00
Phosphorous — 55.00±0.20 2450 334.00±0.00
Potassium — — 12500 —
Table 4: Fatty acid profile of pigeon pea (g/kg).
Name of Nwokolo, (1987) Kunyunga et al. (2013) Ade –Omovaye et al. Longvah et al. (2017)
Fatty acid (g/100g) (g/100g) (2015) (g/kg) (mg/100g)
Capric acid (10:0) 2.45 — — —
Lauric acid (12:0) 18.56 — — —
Myristic acid (14:0) 23.73 — 0.30 —
Palmiticacid(16:0) 10.98 26.2±0.00 21.59 236.00±11.0
Stearic acid (18:00) 3.32 4.0±0.01 5.88 40.95±3.31
Oleic acid (18:1) 8.44 9.2±0.01 10.21 78.55±6.71
Linoleic acid (18:2) 22.54 53.7±0.19 49.69 —
á-Linolenic acid(18:3) — 4.7±0.44 — —
Arachidic acid — — 1.26 —
Lignoceric acid — — — —
% TSFA — — 32.63 —
%TUFA — — 67.37 —
%MUFA — — 10.61 —
%PUFA — — 56.49 —
Phenolics such as pcoumaric acid or vanillic acid
were also detected in pigeon pea. The phytochemical analysis
of leaf seed and stem extracts of pigeon pea showed the
presence of saponins, tannins, alkaloids flavonoids,
anthraquinones and reducing sugars (Harris et al. 2014), but,
cardiac glycosides and terpenoids were absent in some of
the components of pigeon pea. Pigeon pea is a good source
of alkaloids (Aja et al. 2015). The results also revealed that
anthocyanins were found to be present in the leaf and seed
of pigeon pea and the leaves contain more of the bioactive
compounds than the seeds suggesting the use of different
parts of pigeon pea plant on various diseases (Ade-Omowaye
et al. 2015).
Health benefits: The nutritional components of pigeon pea
are widely considered crucial for human nutrition, because
of phytochemicals, bioactive compounds which play vital
roles in humans. Traditionally Cajanus cajan leaves have
been used by Rabha tribe to cure jaundice and also described
as useful for the treatment of smallpox, chicken pox, measles
and also as an astringent, mouthwash by local people of North
East India (Sarma et al. 2015).
Pigeon pea can be a source of remedy in the control
of sickle cell anaemia. In India, many Sickle cell disease
(SCD) patients are using pigeon pea for effective
management of erythrocytes sickling in Chhattisgarh (Verma
2015). In an ethnomedical survey pigeon pea plant was

216 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY AND FOOD RESEARCH
recorded as traditional medicinal plant used in Northern and
South-Eastern Côte d’Ivoire for the treatment of anaemia
(Kone 2011). Pigeon pea also has anti-ulcer potential
(Mansoor 2015).
The European Society of Hypertension reco mm
ends diet and lifestyle approaches as a basis for prevention
and treatment of hypertension. From animal model, it was
both water extracts of pigeon pea and water extracts of B.
subtilis fermented pigeon pea improved systolic blood
pressure and diastolic blood pressure in spontaneously
hypertensive rats (Lee et al. 2015).
Use as functional foods: A study was conducted to investi
gate the survival of Lactobacillus reuteri ATCC 55730 in
creams, prepared with pigeon peas and oat. The study
concluded that L. reuteri ATCC 55730 had the highest
viability in cream with 40% pigeon pea and 20% oat
(Barboza et al. 2012). The effect of the use of pigeon pea as
a substrate in the production of a legume-based fermented
product with Lactobacillus acidophilus ATCC 314 or
Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 was studied by Parra et al.
Pigeon pea-based fermented probiotic product was suitable
for both the strains (Parra et al. 2013).
In a study, the effects of a dietary prebiotic, inulin
and probiotic was investigated in mice using cellulose-based
AIN-93G diets under conditions allowed for the growth of
commensal bacteria (Kuo et al. 2013).
Prebiotic potential: A prebiotic is defined as a selectively
fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in
the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal
microflora that confers benefits upon host well-being and
health (Roberfroid et al. 2010). Fermentation of dietary
carbohydrates provides the energy for the growth and activity
of the intestinal microbiota.
Several studies established the role of prebiotics in
weight control, by improving microbial balance, ameliorating
adiposity and increasing mucosal integrity with decreased
inflammation (John et al. 2012). A number of mechanisms
have been implicated in the link between intestinal
microbiota, increased fatty acid metabolism, and storage of
calories as fat (Mallappa et al. 2012). The prebiotics can be
a tool to modulate gut microbiota which plays a role in the
pathophysiology of obesity.
A diet rich in non-digestible carbohydrates induced
significant weight loss and concomitant structural changes
of the gut microbiota in simple obese children (Zhang et al.
2015). In another study consumption of prebiotics for 16
weeks significantly improved bifidobacterial abundance in
overweight and obese children and proved that prebiotic fiber
is a potential treatment option to reduce body fat by gut
microbiota modulation (Nicolucci et al. 2015).
Recently Devindra et al. (2017) have demonstrated
the prebiotic potential of red gram raffinose oligosaccharides
in an animal model. The results of the prebiotic potential of
red gram oligosaccharides have shown a hypolipidemic effect
and lowered blood glucose level, improved HDL and
decreased LDL. This new array of research may provide
enough evidence for the prebiotic potential of pigeon pea.
Antioxidant potential: The bioactive compounds of pigeon
pea seeds contain some defense machinery. Four important
compounds, pinostrobin, cajaninstilbene acid (CSA), vitexin
and orientin isolated from ethanolic extracts of pigeon pea found
to possess significant antioxidant activities (Pal et al. 2011).
Antioxidant potential of pigeon pea seed husk was
investigated and results revealed a potent anti-oxidant
activity (Rani et al. 2014). The aqueous extract of the pigeon
pea had the highest antioxidant activity possibly because of
the presence of polyphenols (Mahitha et al. 2015). Uchegbu
and Ishiwu (2015) studied antioxidant activity of extract of
germinated pigeon pea in alloxan-induced diabetic rats.
Consumption of germinated pigeon pea extract resulted in
reduction of fasting blood glucose level and LPO in diabetic
rats (Uchegbu and Ishiwu 2015).
Table 7: Anti-nutritional factors in pigeon pea (g/100g).
Constituents Nwaogu & Emejulu, Nwosu et al. Balogun, (2013) Harris, (2014) Aja, (2013)
(2010) (mg/100g) (2013) (g/100g) (mg/100g) (g/100g) (mg/100g)
Alkaloids — 0.323 — 2.65±0.01 385.54±75.15
Phenol — 0.160 — 3.82±0.15 —
Flavono — — — 2.11±0.03 31.08±8.20
Saponin 5.10±0.20 0.466 1.19 6.35±0.96 1.82±0.29
Tannin 0.10±0.01 0.220 1.05 0.23±0.01 17.30±0.47
Hydrogen cyanide — 7.180** 0.65 — —
Phytate 11.57±1.20 1.017 1.81 — —
Oxalate 28.58±1.02 0.139 0.14 — —
Trypsin inhibitor 3.80±0.10* — — — —
Cyanogenic glycoside — — — — 12.42±1.84
Glycosides — — —- — 3.80±1.01
Anthocyanin — — — —- 4.75± 0.17
*TIU/100g, ** mg/100g

Volume 37 Issue 3 (September 2018) 217
Hypocholesterolemic effect: The consumption of pulses and
legumes has been reported to ameliorate serum cholesterol
levels and increase the saturation levels of cholesterol in the
bile. Pigeon pea is a good source of saponins which have
been implicated for the control of high cholesterol level and
they bind to the bile salts (Aja et al. 2015).
Overweight and obesity: The diet high in whole grains is
associated with the lower body mass index, smaller waist
circumference, reduced risk of overweight and obesity (Butt
et al. 2011). Pigeon pea has high protein content and this
dietary protein may promote weight loss by inducing satiety
hence decrease energy expenditure. Using data from the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES),
it was observed that adults who consumed a variety of
legumes had significantly lower body weights compared with
those who did not consume legumes (Polak 2015).
Role in diabetes (Hypoglycemia): It is acknowledged that
certain fibre rich foods like whole pulses can affect glycemic
control in diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Pigeon pea is the
most effective hypoglycemic medicinal plant commonly
studied in relation to diabetes and their complications and
owing to its varied degree of hypoglycemic activity. In a
study substitution of red meat with legumes improved lipid
profiles and glycemic control among diabetes patients
(Hosseinpour-Niazi 2015).
In another study, there was a reduction in glucose
levels of rats treated with ethanol extract of pigeon pea leaves
and an increase in ALT, AST and ALP levels when compared
with those treated with Moringaoleifera extract (Aja et al.
2015b). In a study, crude methanol extract of pigeon pea
seed husks mitigated starch-induced postprandial glycemic
excursions and reduced glycemic load in rats similar to the
standard drug acarbose (Tiwari et al. 2013). The hypogl
ycemic effect of crackers produced from sprouted pigeon
pea caused hypoglycemic effect in diabetic rats and led to a
reduction of measured biochemical indices (Uchegbu 2016).
Cancer prevention: Alkaloids of pigeon pea have been
implicated for inducing a stress response and apoptosis in
human breast cancer cell. DNA fragmentation was observed
in human breast cancer cells treated with cajanol, a novel
anticancer agent from pigeon pea roots (Luo et al. 2010).
The methanol extract of the plant has been shown to
demonstrate cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines,
namely human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7,
human large cell lung carcinoma cell line COR-L23 and
human amelanotic melanoma C32 (Ashidi et al. 2010).
Anti-inflammatory: In another study, the ethanol extracts
of pigeon pea and cyanidin-3-monoglucoside suppressed the
production of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-
1β, and IL-6 (Lai et al., 2012). Hence, pigeon pea leaves
can be developed as an effective herbal remedy for the
treatment and prevention of inflammation or associated
ailments (Patel and Bhutani 2014).
In a recent study, the pigeon pea extract inhibited
carrageenan-induced inflammation by 85 and 95%, respec
tively. This was accompanied by a decrease of TNF-α and
IL-6, as well as significant decrease in IgG serum levels
(Hassan et al. 2015).
Antimicrobial effect: Pigeon pea plant extract is inhibitory
to some bacterial pathogens (Braga et al. 2007). The leaf
part of pigeon pea is an excellent source of natural
antimicrobial substances. Moreover, cajanuslactone is a
potential anti-bacterial agent against Gram-positive
microorganisms (Kong et al. 2010). The presence of tannins,
flavonoids and alkaloids in pigeon pea extract has clinically
relevant antifungal activity (Brito et al. 2012).
A study investigated the protective effect of
cajaninstilbene acid against corticosterone induced injury
in PC12 cells and examined the potential mechanisms for
the same (Jiang et al. 2014). Different extracts of leaf, seed
and root of the pigeon pea were proven to be a great potential
source of antibacterial compounds (Devi et al. 2016) and
also aid in wound healing activity. In a study, wound healing
activity of hydrogel obtained from pigeon pea seed husk was
carried out in albino rats. Gel formulation showed significant
antibacterial activity against both gram positive and gram
negative selected bacteria and the percentage wound closure
and epithelialization for the gel formulation treated group
was comparable with those of standard group treated with
Band aid (Patil and Mastiholimath 2011).
Hepatoprotective: Pigeon pea is already known for its
hepatoprotective function. Pigeon pea plant protein extracts
can up-regulate and counteract the inflammatory process,
minimize the damage to the liver, delay disease progression,
and reduce its complications in liver (Rizk et al. 2014) and
kidneys (Aly et al. 2016). The pigeon pea extract was
potential towards antioxidative protection against iron-
overload-induced liver damage in mice and improved hepatic
antioxidants (Sarkar et al. 2013).
Pigeon pea plant extract also had promising anthel
mintic effects against F. hepatica (Alvarez et al. 2015) and a
poly herbal formulation from pigeon pea could protect the liver
cells from CCl4 - induced liver damages (Arka et al. 2015).
In another study hepatoprotective activity of pigeon
pea was studied in sodium fluoride treated Swiss albino
(BALB/C) mice. Treatment with extract of pigeon pea
exhibited significant anti-oxidant and hepatoprotective
activity (Kayathri et al. 2015).
CONCLUSION
Pigeon pea is among the essential pulse in arid and
semiarid tropical areas of the world. It is a dense source of
nutrients and plays a promising role in human nutrition.
Pigeon pea in view of their nutrient profile seems to be ideal
for inclusion in designing snack foods, baby and sports foods.
Various parts of pigeon pea have already been utilized for
therapeutic use since ages.

218 ASIAN JOURNAL OF DAIRY AND FOOD RESEARCH
From this review, it was noted that pigeon pea is a
good source of antioxidants and can prevent the oxidative
stress related disorders like cancer and cardio vascular
diseases. Consumption of pigeon pea has several health
benefits due to the presence of bioactive compounds and
helps in the weight management, alleviating cholesterolemia
and diabetes hence can be a remedy to metabolic syndrome
as well.
The hepatoprotective potential of pigeon pea is
promising since it has a vital role in the control of liver
damage. The past decade has seen several new trends in the
field of application of pigeon pea in neutraceutical industry.
Pigeon pea can also be an alternative to artificial nutrition
formulas which induce a low grade inflammation. Hopefully,
research will soon offer enough data to show the efficacy of
pigeon pea in gut health by possible biochemical alterations.
Further research is in need to understand the role
of pigeon pea prebiotics to prevent or control diabetes,
obesity, cardiovascular diseases, irritable bowel syndrome
and other health benefits and understand the underlying
mechanisms that could greatly contribute to disease
prevention strategies in humans.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We thank Dr. R. Hemalatha, Director, National
Institute of Nutrition (ICMR) for her continuous support.
Conficts of interest
The authors declare that they have no conûicts of interest
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