Studies on Desi and Kabuli Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Cultivars. The Levels of Amylase Inhibitors, Levels of Oligosaccharides and In Vitro Starch Digestibility

Abstract

ABSTRACT Amylase inhibitor activity (AIA) of chickpea extracts was investigated using pancreatic and salivary amylases. The extracts showed higher inhibitor activity towards pancreatic amylase than salivary amylase. Mean values indicated slightly higher inhibitory activity in desi than kabuli cultivars, though clear‐cut differences were not observed among the cultivars. While in vitro starch digestibility of meal samples indicated no large differences among desi and kabuli types of chickpea, the mean values of digestibility of isolated starches of kabuli types was higher than those of desi types. The mean values of stachyose were higher in desi cultivars. When desi and kabuli types were considered together, stachyose and raffinose contents were not found significantly related to the concentrations of total soluble sugars while stachyose showed a significant correlation with raffinose.