Nutritional significance of lectins and enzyme inhibitors from legumes.
Legumes have natural components, such as lectins, amylase, and trypsin inhibitors, that may adversely affect their nutritional properties. Much information has already been obtained on their antinutritional significance and how to inactivate them by proper processing. Chronic ingestion of residual levels is unlikely to pose risks to human health. On the other hand, the ability of these molecules to inhibit some enzymes such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, disaccharidases, and alpha-amylases, to selectively bind to glycoconjugates, and to enter the circulatory system may be a useful tool in nutrition and pharmacology. Trypsin inhibitors have also been studied as cancer risk reducing factors. These components seem to act as plant defense substances. However, increased contents may represent an impairment of the nutritional quality of legumes because these glycoproteins and the sulfur-rich protease inhibitors have been shown to be poorly digested and to participate in chemical reactions during processing reducing protein digestibility, a still unsolved question.
Lajolo
Franco M
FM
Departamento de Alimentos e Nutrição Experimental, Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Prof. Lineu Prestes 580, CEP 05508-900, São Paulo, Brazil.
Genovese
Maria Inés
MI
D003296:Cooking; D004063:Digestion; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D009753:Nutritive Value; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000378:metabolism; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D037121:Plant Lectins; D010940:Plant Proteins