Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) is a nutritionally valuable pulse crop, yet its consumption is limited by the abundance of seed α-galacto-oligosaccharides (α-GOS), which can cause digestive discomfort. This study examined the influence of genetics, heat-stress during seed development, and soaking-roasting treatments on levels α-GOS in Kabuli chickpeas used in roasted chickpea production. Twenty-four Kabuli-type chickpea genotypes grown across two field seasons revealed significant genetic differences in α-GOS content, with broad-sense heritability estimated at 76%. Controlled application of heat-stress during the seed filling stage strongly altered the α-GOS composition by increasing raffinose and stachyose content, but reducing ciceritol content, resulting in no net change in total α-GOS concentration. During the process of soaking then roasting chickpeas, it was demonstrated that the observed reduction in α-GOS content was attributable solely to soaking time, as roasting itself had no significant effect. A time-course study indicated that both leaching and endogenous α-galactosidase activity contribute to α-GOS reduction during soaking. Notably, genotype differences in α-GOS reduction by soaking were larger than α-GOS differences in among untreated seeds. Multiple linear modeling related the genetic variation in α-GOS loss during soaking to three seed properties: size, hydration coefficient and α-galactosidase activity. These findings underscore the importance of considering genotype interactions with processing conditions in order to develop chickpea products with improved nutrient quality, digestibility and consumer acceptance.
Kumari et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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