Functional Properties of Some Nigerian Varieties of Legume Seed Flours and Flour Concentration Effect on Foaming and Gelation Properties

Functional properties of two varieties of Bambara Groundnut Flours (BBG* and BBGF*) Kerstring’s Groundnut Flour (KSGF), two varieties of Rear Cowpea Flour (RCPF* and RCPF*) and Scarlet Runner Beans Flour (SRBF) were determined. Effects of flour concentration on foaming and gelation properties were also investigated. The results showed that the functional properties of the varieties of legume seed flours ranged as follows: Foaming Capacity (FC) 7.9±0.5-15.5±1.2%; Foaming Stability (FS), 87.7±1.5-98.4±2.3%; Water absorption capacity (WAC), 200.0±1.0-240.5±2.3%; Oil Absorption Capacity (OAC), 127.8±4.0-172.3±1.0%; Emulsion Capacity (EC), 50.0±2.0-95.0±1.0mgL–1; Emulsion Stability (ES), 13.0 0.00-43.5 1.0mLg–1; Least Gelation Concentration (LGC), 12.0 0.0-16.0 0.0% w/v; Bulk Density (BD), 531.2 0.1-586.8 0.5gL–1. The protein solubility studies of the flours were found to have minimum solubility at pH range of 4.2-5.5 which correspond to iso-electric point while only SRBF showed minimum solubility of two different PH of 5.0 and 9.2 indicating that two different isolates might be recovered from the sample. FC and FS of the flours increased as the concentration of flour solution increased. There was improvement in LGC with the increase in flour concentration.