Evaluation of Compositional, Rheological, Thermal, and Functional Changes in Chickpea Flour and Starch during the Germination Process

Abstract

In this work, the effect of germination time (4 days) onthe proximal composition of flours and the functional, thermal,rheological, vibrational, and structural properties of chickpea starchwas evaluated, with the aim of determining its potential for use in thefood industry. It was found that, in flours during the first 2 days ofgermination, the percentages of fiber (12.694 ± 1.155−5.253 ±0.194%), ash (2.584 ± 0.096−1.022 ± 0.064%), and protein (16.187± 0.432−10.598 ± 0.517%) decrease rapidly, which could be used assubstrates in the process; however, in starch, the amylose contentincreases as a result of the debranching of amylopectin, going from12.034 ± 0.181% on day 0 to 19.634 ± 1.11% on day 4 of germination.The X-ray diffraction patterns present a typical behavior of type Cstarches, with the presence of nanocrystals with hexagonal andorthorhombic crystalline structures; the SEM images of chickpeastarch show no changes in its integrity during germination. The most significant changes during the germination process of chickpeastarch were observed in the pasting properties, where the peak viscosity during heating (4389 ± 23.8−8966 ± 37.12 cP) and thefinal viscosity after cooling (1968 ± 45.2−8854 ± 56.98 cP) increased substantially, especially on days 3−4 of germination.Regarding thermal properties, the gelatinization temperature decreased significantly (71.3 ± 1.58−49.3 ± 1.07 °C). All of the aboveallows us to conclude that germinated chickpea starch could be used as a thickening agent for the formation of stable gels in shortercooking processes, improving its hydration capacity, retaining moisture better, and increasing the viscosity and texture of the foodproducts where it is used.