Nutritional and Anti-nutritional Constituents in Different Seed Components of Rice Bean (Vigna umbellata)

Biochemical analysis of different seed components of rice bean (Vigna umbellata) revealed wide variation for different nutritional and anti-nutritional constituents, viz; crude protein, total carbohydrate content, crude fibre, ether extract, ascorbic acid, tryptophan, methionine, phenolics content, total tannins, condensed tannins, hydrolysable tannins, and phytic acid. Most of the protein and other nutritional components of seeds were localized in the cotyledons, whereas, the seed coat revealed higher values for different anti-nutrients. The study indicated that the low acceptance of rice bean pulse in routine cuisine despite of high nutritional content may be related to different anti-nutritional factors. Therefore, use of dehulled rice bean seeds as pulse and other value added products is recommended for the reduction of different anti-nutritional factors and general acceptability of pulse in routine cuisine.