C. Ordorica-Falomir

Food proteins from emerging seed sources

While soybean and wheat products have a commanding lead as protein-rich supplements in processed foods, several new sources of vegetable protein are potentially able to share the market as food ingredients. For example, high-protein flours and concentrates are now prepared commercially from defatted meals of some oilseeds. Starchy legumes such as fababean, field pea and common bean are being processed into protein isolates, or the flours are classified into protein and starch components that are available to the food processing industry [1, 2]. Nutrient composition of oilseed products is a varying property affected by many physical and chemical factors. Such factors as location and environment in which the oilseed is produced, varietal genetics, seed treatment before processing, and processing conditions all have significant influences on the nutrient composition of the final product. Each of these factors must be carefully considered if oilseed products are to have beneficial influences on nutrition [3]. However, it is acknowledged currently that proteins are included in food products not principally for their nutritional value but for the functional properties they impart. At the same time, there are other, little studied, alternative crops such as amaranth and quinoa, which are potentially very attractive from the agronomic, functional and nutritional viewpoints.