Vol. 11, Issue 11 (2022)

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an important pulse consumed worldwide. It is the richest source of nutrients including protein, dietary fibre, carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Apart from nutrients, it is also a drought-resistant crop which can be cultivated in arid and semi-arid areas. The present study was conducted in the Department of Food Science and Environmental Science, Dr Yashwant Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni Solan (HP) to determine the effect of different treatments such as soaking, roasting, germination and both soaking and germination on the nutritional quality improvement of cowpea flour. Soaking of seeds in warm water (1:3) for 12 h followed by germination for 24, 36 and 84 hours significantly increased moisture (7.13-11.21%), crude protein from (24.98 - 29.24%), crude fibre (9.72-11.54%), ascorbic acid (5.19-11.98 mg/100 g) and ash content (2.78-3.67%) while total carbohydrates and total energy decrease significantly i.e. (61.17-51.53%) and (408.58-362.23%), respectively. Similarly, the minerals increase significantly in soaked and germinated treatments as compared to the raw sample. There is an increase from (109.24 to 118.46 mg/100 g) for sodium, (1275.34 to 1458.55 mg/100 g) potassium, (301.54 to 406.55 mg/100 g)phosphorous, (174.21 to 197.45 mg/100 g) calcium, (4.25 to 7.16 mg/100 g) iron, (8.95 to 12.67 mg/100 g) copper, (5.14 to 8.12 mg/100 g) zinc, (1.75 to 7.32 mg/100 g) manganese and (4.79-10.23 mg/100 g) magnesium. The flour is recommended for use in value-added products to boost the nutritional quality and prevent nutrition deficiency in a vulnerable group.