Although Australia is the largest exporter of faba bean globally, there is limited information available on the levels of bioactive compounds found in current commercial faba bean varieties grown in this country. This study profiled the phenolic acid and flavonoid composition of 10 Australian faba bean varieties, grown at two different locations. Phenolic profiling by HPLC-DAD revealed the most abundant flavonoid to be catechin, followed by rutin. For the phenolic acids, syringic acid was found in high concentrations (72.4–122.5 mg/kg), while protocatechuic, vanillic, p-hydroxybenzoic, chlorogenic, p-coumaric, and trans-ferulic acid were all found in low concentrations. The content of most individual phenolics varied significantly with the variety, while some effect of the growing location was also observed. This information could be used by food processors and plant breeders to maximise the potential health benefits of Australian-grown faba bean.

There is growing interest in pulses such as faba bean for the development of foods with enhanced nutrition, functionality, and health benefits. In this study, seed material from 10 faba bean varieties, grown in replicated field trials in South Australia over consecutive seasons (2016 and 2017), were analysed for ferric reducing antioxidant potential, total phenolics, and total monomeric anthocyanins. Differences in the macrochemical composition of varieties was investigated using attenuated total reflectance mid‐infrared spectroscopy. The mean ferric reducing antioxidant potential of the varieties ranged from 237 to 531 mg trolox equivalents 100 g⁻¹; the total phenolics from 258 to 571 mg gallic acid equivalents 100 g⁻¹; and the total monomeric anthocyanins from 12.7 to 21.0 mg cyanidin‐3‐glucoside equivalents 100 g⁻¹. Statistically significant variances in all three measures were found between varieties. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed mid‐infrared spectroscopy was found to provide a rapid assessment of the phytochemical composition of the samples. Partial least squares discriminant analysis was able to classify samples by growing year with reasonable accuracy (>87%). There is significant variation in the antioxidant, phenolic, and anthocyanin contents between Australian faba bean varieties. Mid‐infrared spectroscopy may prove to be a valuable screening tool for breeders and researchers in the future.

Pulses are grown worldwide and provide agronomic benefits that contribute to the sustainability of cropping systems. Pulses are high in protein and provide a good source of carbohydrates, dietary fibre, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive constituents. Crops such as lupins, chickpeas, faba beans, field peas, lentils, and mung beans, and the diversity of varieties among them, provide enormous opportunities for processing protein ingredients for use in new and existing food formulations. This review highlights the nutritional properties of pulses, protein quality, functionality, and applications for pulse protein ingredients. Understanding the functionality of pulse proteins, and the unique properties between different pulses in terms of solubility, water- and oil-holding capacity, emulsification, gelation, and foaming properties, will help maximise their use in plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, beverages, bakery products, noodles, pasta, and nutritional supplements. In this review, researchers, food technologists, and food manufacturers are provided with a comprehensive resource on pulses, and the diverse applications for pulse protein ingredients within the context of food manufacturing and the constantly evolving food technology landscape.

Plant‐based proteins continue to gain popularity as a sustainable alternative to animal proteins due to their nutritional, functional and health benefits. Dry and wet fractionation methods are increasingly being used for the production of value‐added pulse protein ingredients. The objective of this study was to compare the nutritional properties, protein quality, physicochemical properties and secondary structure of Australian faba bean and yellow pea protein concentrates and protein isolates obtained by dry and wet fractionation. Amino acid scores highlighted that faba bean and yellow pea protein isolates and concentrates were deficient in the sulphur‐containing amino acids, methionine and cysteine and tryptophan. Faba bean (63.7%) and yellow pea protein (63.0%) isolates had higher in vitro protein digestibility‐corrected amino acid scores compared to the protein concentrates, being 50.7% and 54.4%, respectively. Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy revealed different secondary structures between protein concentrates and isolates, especially for the amide I region. Faba bean and yellow pea protein concentrates had higher protein solubility (46.2% and 50.1%, respectively) and higher foaming capacity (65% and 59%, respectively) compared to the protein isolates. Water‐holding capacity was higher for faba bean and yellow pea protein isolates, being 4.3% and 4.0 g/g, respectively. These findings demonstrate that faba bean and yellow pea protein concentrates and isolates have unique functional properties that can be exploited for use in a diverse range of new and existing food applications.

Milling and air classification settings were optimised for production of protein concentrates from Australian faba bean, yellow pea and red lentil seed material. Pulses were milled to flour of three progressively finer particle size distributions (D₅₀ of 23–25, 16–18 and 13–14 μm) and air classified at classifier wheel speeds of 7080, 9600 and 10,200 rpm. Maximum protein concentration was reported for pulse flours (D₅₀ of 13–14 μm) at 9600 rpm. Protein concentrations of 61.4, 58.1 and 61.0 g/100 g (db.), reflecting a fold increase in protein content of 1.9, 2.3 and 2.1, were reported for faba bean, yellow pea and red lentil, respectively. Protein, ash, fat and total dietary fibre contents were significantly higher in fine fractions (p < 0.05), compared with coarse fractions, resulting in protein concentrates with enhanced nutritional properties. Amino acid score (AAS) of protein concentrates highlighted deficiencies in sulphur‐containing amino acids, methionine and cysteine (MET + CYS), and tryptophan. Based on the lowest AAS (MET + CYS), protein concentrates were ranked highest for yellow pea (0.75), followed by faba bean (0.58) and red lentil (0.51). Phytochemical analysis demonstrated that bioactive constituents also co‐concentrated with protein (fine fraction), potentially leading to protein concentrates with enhanced health benefits. Shelf‐life assessment for the original flours and protein concentrates indicated the onset of rancidity after 3 months of storage. As fat content co‐concentrated with protein, the rancidity (%) scores were higher for protein concentrates compared with the original flours. This demonstrates the importance of developing effective treatments, suitable for dry processing, which can extend shelf‐life and stability of protein concentrate ingredients for domestic and export markets. The objective of this study was to increase the knowledge available on dry processing of protein concentrates from Australian pulses. The information generated from this study will look to inform future commercial scale processing operations.

Mungbeans are growing in popularity among Australian consumers, driven by their beneficial nutritional and phytochemical composition. However, data on the antioxidative, mineral, and phytochemical content of Australian mungbeans at the point of consumer purchase remains scarce. Here, five commercial mungbean samples were analysed for total antioxidant capacity, total phenolics, and total monomeric anthocyanins. Attenuated total reflectance midinfrared spectroscopy was utilised as a rapid and reliable method of obtaining information about the macrochemical composition of the mungbean hulls. Total antioxidant capacity ranged from 170 to 570 mg Trolox equivalents per 100 g, total phenolic content from 130 to 240 mg gallic acid equivalents per 100 g, and anthocyanin content from 10 to 40 mg cyanidin‐3‐glucoside equivalents per 100 g. There was a significant difference between varieties in all measures of antioxidant, phenolic and anthocyanin contents. Using principal component analysis, the midinfrared spectra for the five mungbean varieties could be isolated, highlighting the differences in their phytochemical composition. In general, whole Australian mungbeans appear to have the highest antioxidant, phenolic, and anthocyanin contents. Midinfrared spectroscopy appears to be a valuable method of obtaining and comparing the macrochemical composition of mungbeans. This technology is likely to be of increasing use in the future.