Functional Properties of Processed Pinto Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Grown in Plateau State, Nigeria

It is well documented that processing method influences the chemical composition and utilization of plant foods. For this purpose, the effect of different processing methods (boiled, cooked, roasted, sprouted and fermented) was investigated on the functional properties of pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) flour. Functional properties (water, oil, oil emulsion and foaming capacities: WAC, OAC, OEC, FC; foaming and oil emulsion stabilities: FS, OES; least gelation concentration: LGC; bulk density: BD; protein solubility: PS) of raw and processed pinto bean flour were all determined using standard analytical techniques. The results showed that OEC, OES, LGC and BD were enhanced by different processing methods while WAC and OAC were reduced by roasting method. Processing significantly (p ?0.05) affected the content of some functional parameters in pinto bean flour. Boiling, sprouting and fermenting increased WAC and OAC contents by 34.6, 28.8, 21.2% and 33.0, 24.2, 36.3%, respectively while cooking, roasting and sprouting reduced FS by respective 3.9, 32.4 and 13.6%. The protein solubility studies of the raw and processed sample flour were found to have minimum solubility at pH range of 4.0 to 5.2 which correspond to isoelectric points where protein isolates might be recovered from the samples. Generally, all the functional parameters determined in this study were good thereby making raw and processed samples of pinto bean potentially useful in some food formulations. Keywords: Pinto bean, domestic processing, functional parameters