Chickpeas are one of the most important vegetables in India and Pakistan, are also widely eaten in Europe, and are commonly used in Uyghur medicine. It originated in western Asia and the Near East. It is the largest cultivated bean plant in the world.

The nutritional value of chickpeas

Chickpeas are rich in protein, fat, crude fiber, vitamins and calcium, magnesium, iron and other components, of which the protein content is 22.5%, higher than oats and walnuts. The content of chickpea starch is 50.0%, which is lower than that of oat (64.3%), Tartary buckwheat (73.11%), and higher than that of black bean (33.6%) and potato (15.0%). It can be used for weight loss health care products. The content of insoluble dietary fiber is 3.16%, which is twice that of Tartary buckwheat. It can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis and is conducive to the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Chickpeas are low in fat, at 5.5%, but are rich in unsaturated fatty acids. Chickpeas can enhance the body's own cholesterol-lowering effect, and can be used as daily food for the "three high" groups. Chickpeas contain calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium and other essential minerals for the human body, so that the human body can absorb enough minerals, make up for the lack of minerals in the ordinary diet, to enhance the maintenance ability of the body's glial system and acid-base balance play an important role, can be used as mineral nutrition fortifier.

Applications of chickpeas

Chickpea is widely used, chickpea starch can be used in textile, paper industry, leaves can extract indigo dye, stalk is a good fertilizer.Chickpea can be developed into chickpea milk series drinks, puffed food, convenient nutrition porridge and health food, etc. It is a kind of legumes worthy of further research, development and application..

Chickpea protein functional food

Chickpeas are rich in protein and contain high levels of essential amino acids, making them a good source of vegetable protein. With a protein content of 22.5%, it is ideal for deep processing into protein powder. The protein powder on the market generally uses purified casein, whey protein or a combination of the above proteins, and the amino acid content of chickpeas is similar to the 2011 World Nutrition Federation standard human daily vitamin content, so the chickpea protein powder is fully in line with the recommended ideal nutrient level.

From the point of view of consumption, chickpea protein powder has good taste, suitable for all ages, and is a favorite health care product for the majority of consumers. At the same time it is rich in lysine, leucine, isoleucine, valine and other essential amino acids, can maintain the normal daily needs of the human body, can be developed into amino acid health food.

Chickpeas Other functional foods

With the improvement of people's living standards, hyperlipidemia has become a growing threat to people. Therefore, there is a great demand for healthy and lipid-lowering products. Chickpea is low in fat, and fatty acids are beneficial to human body unsaturated fatty acids, and there are flavonoid saponins, alkaloids and other active functional components that can synergically reduce blood sugar, as well as rich minerals and vitamins. Chickpea has a mild, long-lasting effect on human body, stable nature, and few side effects, and can play an effective auxiliary treatment for diabetes and its complications.

If chickpeas and their products are proportionally combined with milk powder to make soybean milk powder, it can play a complementary role in nutrition. It is not only easy to digest and absorb, but also has high edible value and health care function, and is a good diet for infants and the elderly.

Chickpeas can also be mixed with lactic acid bacteria fermentation, rich nutrition, good taste, loved by the majority of consumers.