The nutritional benefits of peas and their application in food

January 22, 2024

Peas, also known as cold beans, wheat beans, snow beans, Bi beans, national beans, etc. Peas are an annual legume crop that originated in western Asia and the Mediterranean region, and are widely cultivated in China. The cultivated peas nowadays can be divided into three types according to their uses: grain peas, feed peas, and vegetable peas.

01 The Nutrition of Peas

(1) Enhance the body's immune function

Peas are rich in various nutrients that the human body needs, especially high-quality protein, which can improve the body's disease resistance and recovery ability.

(2) Tongli Large Intestine

Peas are rich in crude fiber, which can promote the peristalsis of the large intestine, keep bowel movements smooth, and play a role in cleaning the large intestine.

(3) Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory

Peas contain substances such as gibberellin and phytocoagulants, which have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and enhanced metabolic functions.

(4) Protecting vision

Pea seeds contain a large amount of carotene and lutein, which are very beneficial for protecting the optic nerve and improving vision.

02 Pea Ingredients and Their Applications in the Food Industry

2.1 Pea starch

At present, the application of pea starch in the food industry is mainly to make vermicelli and cold noodles. In order to meet the innovation needs of the food industry for products and the development and promotion of functional foods, the main direction for developing pea starch is to prepare resistant starch by scraping raw starch through physical (wet heat), chemical (cross-linking), or enzyme treatment (de branching enzyme hydrolysis) methods.

Resistant starch can control blood sugar and improve metabolism of diabetic patients; Reduce the concentration of cholesterol and triglycerides in serum to prevent fatty liver disease; Can be fermented by large intestine microorganisms to generate short chain fatty acids, inhibiting the occurrence of colon cancer; Promote physiological functions such as the absorption of beneficial mineral elements by the human body.

By utilizing its excellent physiological functions and unique physicochemical properties, it can be added as a dietary fiber enhancer to baked goods; Applied as an additive to increase the puffing coefficient in extruded grains and other puffed foods; Add as a food thickener to products such as sauces and dairy beverages; It can also be used as a coating for food grade microcapsules to improve the anti enzymatic stability of the coating.

2.2 Pea protein

Pea protein can be used as a nutritional enhancer in food, and can be added to different foods according to its different functional characteristics to balance nutrition.

Its good solubility can be applied to liquid foods such as beverages and sauces; Its good oil absorption, water retention and gel formability can replace some meat proteins and be added to meat products such as ham sausage and lunch meat; Its certain foaming property and foam stability can be added to cakes, pastries and other pastry foods; Its excellent emulsification performance and emulsification stability can be added to essence, spices, cold drinks and other related products as an emulsifier.

In recent years, in order to further improve the nutritional performance and utilization rate of pea protein, the hydrolysis of pea protease into pea peptides and their addition to food has become a research hotspot. Compared with pea protein, its polypeptide not only has the nutritional function of pea protein, but also has better physical and chemical properties such as solubility, stability and anti gel property than pea protein, as well as broader physiological regulation functions such as prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, improvement of human immune function, elimination of excess free radicals in the body, anti-aging and anti-cancer.

Pea peptide has a mild taste and can be used in the production of infant formula milk powder. It can also be added to adult food to make functional foods, as well as to make peptide reagents and drugs. The development and application of pea peptides provide a broader market space for the research and utilization of pea proteins.

2.3 Pea dietary fiber

In the food industry production, the physicochemical properties and functional characteristics of pea dietary fiber can be utilized to add it to flour, strengthen the gluten of the dough, and make pastry products with special taste and flavor; A new type of product that enhances dietary fiber by adding it to fluid foods such as beverages and dairy products; Add to puffed and fried foods to improve their flavor and increase product value; Add to sauces and seasonings to increase their consistency and improve product structure.

In addition, in recent years, many studies have used physical methods (mainly ultra-high pressure technology, ultrafine grinding technology, etc.), chemical methods (including acid and alkali methods), or biological methods (enzyme and fermentation methods) to modify pea dietary fiber, so as to further improve its physicochemical properties and functional characteristics. Developing and utilizing it will provide a broader market prospect for the application of pea dietary fiber in the food industry.

2.4 Other components in peas

Pea skin contains rich chlorophyll. If refined, it can be made into chlorophyll copper sodium salt that is easily soluble in water, resistant to light and heat, and has good stability. It can be used as a natural pigment for coloring and consumption; Pea seeds contain abundant phytic acid, which is easily soluble in water and ethanol, but insoluble in chloroform and ether. They can be used as preservatives and color protectants for fruits, vegetables, and aquatic products; The polysaccharides in pea seeds and the polyphenols in their pods can eliminate free radicals in the human body, have antioxidant and anti-aging effects, have good solubility, low viscosity, and no bean odor, and can replace pectin as a new type of food additive; Polyphenols can be used as natural antioxidants, preservatives, and clarifying agents for alcoholic beverages in food processing and production. Pea seeds also contain flavonoids and saponins, but the research on their physiological functions is currently unclear.

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