EFFECT OF GERMINATION ON THE NUTRITIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL-TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF CHICKPEA

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on the effect of germination on the nutritional value, antinutritional profile, functional-technological, and structural-mechanical properties of chickpea. The study object was chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) before germination and after germination and technological preparation. The comparative assessment included protein content, dietary fiber content, total phenolic content, phytic acid content, trypsin inhibitor activity, water-holding capacity, swelling capacity, and hardness after hydrothermal treatment. The experimental results demonstrated that germination induced a complex and targeted modification of chickpea properties. Protein content increased by 10.4%, dietary fiber content by 10.8%, and total phenolic content by 67.6%. At the same time, phytic acid content decreased by 54.3% and trypsin inhibitor activity by 68.9%, indicating an improvement in the antinutritional profile of the raw material. Water-holding capacity increased by 35.9% and swelling capacity by 43.0%, while chickpea hardness after hydrothermal treatment decreased by 57.4%. To provide an integrated assessment of these multidirectional changes, partial and overall integral quality indices were calculated. The nutritional value index was 1.271, corresponding to an improvement of 27.1%; the antinutritional profile index was 2.652, corresponding to 165.2%; and the functional-technological properties index was 1.659, corresponding to 65.9%. The overall integral quality index was 1.688, which corresponds to a comprehensive improvement of 68.8% in the studied properties of chickpea after germination. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of germination as a method for the targeted modification of the nutritional and functional-technological characteristics of chickpea and substantiate the prospects for its use as a plant-based ingredient in multicomponent food systems. Further research should focus on a more detailed investigation of the relationships between biochemical, hydration, and structural-mechanical changes in chickpea during germination, as well as on evaluating the effectiveness of its application in various food systems.