Effect of home cooking on the retention of various nutrients in commonly consumed pulses in Pakistan

Four different types of pulses viz. chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), lentil (Lens culinaris L.), mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) and mashbean (Phaseolus aureus L.) were analyzed both in raw and cooked forms for proximate composition and mineral elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn) in order to study the retention of each nutrient. In all four pulses, retention of protein, lipid and crude fiber ranged from 82.94-93.89, 78.94-114.20, 86.11-123.90%, respectively. The retention of ash content ranged from 67.17 to 76.19% while that of Nitrogen Free Extract (NFE) ranged from 76.82-86.30% in all four pulses. Amongst the mineral elements, the percent retention was 73.17-104.90, 58.17-107.90, 78.70-238.20, 65.87-72.73, 65.50-117.81, 61.11-91.33, 67.23-129.7, and 76.40-103.10 for Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn, respectively. Maximum retention value (238.20%) was observed for Ca in chickpea and minimum (58.17%) for K in mungbean. On the average, the retention values of Na, K, Mg, Cu, Zn and Mn were lower but the losses were nutritionally negligible.