Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) protein as a prospective plant‐based ingredient: a review

Abstract

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the most grown and consumed pulses and it is traditionally commercialised as seeds, flour or canned foods. In the frame of alternative protein sources, chickpea emerged as a rich source of dietary proteins (17–22%) that can be dry‐ or wet‐extracted. The application of chickpea proteins as food ingredients is still in the early stages, where their properties and how they interact within food matrices are scarcely studied. Therefore, this review provides recent advances in processing, characteristics and applications of chickpea proteins. Nutritionally, these proteins have various biological activities, adequate levels of essential amino acids and protein digestibility. Technologically, their bland flavour, neutral taste and light colour make them suitable ingredients for new products development including noodles, breads, cookies and sausages. Chickpea proteins and particularly hydrolysates are a promising alternative to be used more broadly as functional ingredients.