Faba bean in cropping systems

Dietary antinutritional factors have been reported to adversely affect the digestibility of protein, bioavailability of amino acids and protein quality of foods. Published data on these negative effects of major dietary antinutritional factors are summarized in this manuscript. Digestibility and the quality of mixed diets in developing countries are considerably lower than of those in developed regions. For example, the digestibility of protein in traditional diets from developing countries such as India, Guatemala and Brazil is considerably lower compared to that of protein in typical North American diets (54–78 versus 88–94 %). Poor digestibility of protein in the diets of developing countries, which are based on less refined cereals and grain legumes as major sources of protein, is due to the presence of less digestible protein fractions, high levels of insoluble fibre, and/or high concentrations of antinutritional factors present endogenously or formed during processing. Examples of naturally occurring antinutritional factors include glucosinolates in mustard and canola protein products, trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinins in legumes, tannins in legumes and cereals, gossypol in cottonseed protein products, and uricogenic nucleobases in yeast protein products. Heat/alkaline treatments of protein products may yield Maillard reaction compounds, oxidized forms of sulphur amino acids, D-amino acids and lysinoalanine (LAL, an unnatural nephrotoxic amino acid derivative). Among common food and feed protein products, soyabeans are the most concentrated source of trypsin inhibitors. The presence of high levels of dietary trypsin inhibitors from soyabeans, kidney beans or other grain legumes have been reported to cause substantial reductions in protein and amino acid digestibility (up to 50 %) and protein quality (up to 100 %) in rats and/or pigs. Similarly, the presence of high levels of tannins in sorghum and other cereals, fababean and other grain legumes can cause significant reductions (up to 23 %) in protein and amino acid digestibility in rats, poultry, and pigs. Normally encountered levels of phytates in cereals and legumes can reduce protein and amino acid digestibility by up to 10 %. D-amino acids and LAL formed during alkaline/heat treatment of lactalbumin, casein, soya protein or wheat protein are poorly digestible (less than 40 %), and their presence can reduce protein digestibility by up to 28 % in rats and pigs, and can cause a drastic reduction (100 %) in protein quality, as measured by rat growth methods. The adverse effects of antinutritional factors on protein digestibility and protein quality have been reported to be more pronounced in elderly rats (20-months old) compared to young (5-weeks old) rats, suggesting the use of old rats as a model for assessing the protein digestibility of products intended for the elderly.

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Impact of antinutritional factors in food proteins on the digestibility of protein and the bioavailability of amino acids and on protein quality.

Legumes have the potential to support global protein production by partially replacing meat and dairy products in the human diet. This will not only help meeting the increasing worldwide demand for proteins, but could contribute towards mitigating the threat imposed to the environment by current agricultural practices in higher-economy countries (dependence on fossil fuel energy and harmful emissions). Among the legumes, fava bean (Vicia faba L.) is a valuable crop. It is a rich source of proteins, fiber, and other non-nutrient compounds considered beneficial for health. Although a popular source of proteins in many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, Mediterranean area, and South America, it has yet to be fully exploited in markets where meat is the predominant source of proteins in the diet. Here, fava bean cultivation could not only make a valuable contribution towards protein self-sufficiency, but could potentially play a role in alleviating the rise in chronic diseases. In addition, fava bean enables symbiotic fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and can provide a more environmentally friendly substitution for industrial N-fertilizers with associated improvements in resource efficiency and production costs. From both a food security and environmental sustainability perspective, encouraging both production and consumption of fava bean is a timely and important target. This review focuses on the potential of fava bean as a functional food ingredient to partially replace meat in the human diet.

Potential of Fava Bean as Future Protein Supply to Partially Replace Meat Intake in the Human Diet

Novel insights on the functional/nutritional features of the sourdough fermentation.

There is a great demand for high-protein materials for livestock feed in Europe and European agriculture has a deficit of about 70% high-protein materials of which 87% is met by imported soybean and soy meal. This reflects the fact that grain legumes are currently under represented in European agriculture and produced on only 1.5% of the arable land in Europe compared with 14.5% on a worldwide basis. Several grain legumes have the potential to replace at least some of the soya currently used in the diets of monogastric animals, ruminants, and fish. There are also opportunities for greater use of legumes in new foods. Here we review the contribution of ecosystem services by grain legumes in European agriculture starting with provisioning services in terms of food and feed and moving on to the contribution they make to both regulating and supporting services which are in part due to the diversity which these crops bring to cropping systems. We explore the need to understand grain legume production on the time scale of a rotation rather than a cropping season in order to value and manage the agronomic challenges of weed, pests, and diseases alongside the maintenance or improvement of soil structure, soil organic matter, and nutrient cycling. A review of policy interventions to support grain legumes reveals that until very recently these have failed to make a difference in Europe. We contrast the European picture with the interventions that have allowed the development of grain legume production in both Canada and Australia. Whether farmers choose to grow more legumes will depend on market opportunities, the development of supply chains, and policy support as well as technical improvements of grain legume production such as breeding of new varieties and management development to improve yield stability. However, to really increase the production of grain legumes in Europe, the issues are far more wide reaching than agronomy or subsidy and require a fundamental rethinking of value chains to move grain legumes from being niche products to mainstream commodities.

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Grain Legume Production and Use in European Agricultural Systems

Nutritional value of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) seeds for feed and food

Les legumineuses fourrageres et a graines ont joue un role historique important dans la naissance de l'agriculture. Depuis les annees 1950, l'effet conjugue de l'intensification des elevages (appuyee par des importations massives de soja par l'Europe), et du soutien politique europeen aux productions de cereales et oleagineux (appuyees par une production massive d'engrais azotes elabores a partir d'energies fossiles importees) ont reduit la part des legumineuses dans nos agricultures francaise et europeenne. Aujourd'hui, des attentes socio-economiques sont croissantes pour (i) des systemes de production vegetale et animale plus durables prenant en compte les couts des intrants et les impacts environnementaux, et (ii) pour une tracabilite et securite alimentaire des produits consommes. Ce contexte nouveau est favorable au developpement des legumineuses qui presentent, (i) pour les producteurs l'atout d'une capacite a fixer l'azote atmospherique par une symbiose avec des bacteries rhizobiacees et celui d'une bonne insertion technique des differents systemes de culture, et (ii) pour les utilisateurs humains ou animaux, l'atout d'une production de proteines de bonne valeur nutritionnelle. Ce developpement qui contribuera a davantage d'autonomie de l'UE pour les ressources en proteines, necessitera une forte coordination des decideurs politiques avec les acteurs de la filiere et ceux de la societe civile.

Benoit Carrouée

Papers

Nutritional value of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) seeds for feed and food

Importance économique passée et présente des légumineuses : Rôle historique dans les assolements et facteurs d'évolution