Nutritional and Phytochemical Content of High-Protein Crops

Sustainable sources of high-protein plants could help meet future protein requirements. Buckwheat, green pea, fava bean, hemp and lupin were analyzed by proximate analysis and ICP-MS to determine the macro- and micronutrient content and LC-MS to elucidate the phytochemical profiles. The protein content ranged from 20-43 % (w/w) and all were found to be rich in insoluble fibre; 9-25 % (w/w). The selected crops had a favourable micronutrient profile with phosphorous levels ranging from 2.22 ± 0.05 g kg-1 to 9.72 ± 0.41 g kg-1, while iron levels ranged from 20.23 ± 0.86 mg kg-1 to 69.57 ± 7.43 mg kg-1. The crops contained substantial amounts of phytophenolic compounds. In particular, buckwheat was a rich source of pelargonidin (748.17 ± 75.55 mg kg-1), epicatechin (184.1 ± 33.2 mg kg-1), quercetin (35.66 ± 2.22 mg kg-1), caffeic acid (41.74 ± 22.54 mg kg-1) and 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (63.64 ± 36.16 mg kg-1), hemp contained p-coumaric acid (84.02 ± 8.10 mg kg-1), cyanidin (58.43 ± 21.01 mg kg-1), protocatechualdehyde (34.77 ± 5.15 mg kg-1) and gentisic acid (31.20±1.67 mg kg-1) and fava bean was the richest source of ferulic acid (229.51 ± 36.58 mg kg-1) and its 5-5´ (39.99 ± 1.10 mg kg-1) and 8-5 dimers (58.17 ± 6.68 mg kg-1). Demonstrating that these crops are rich sources of protein, fibre and phytochemicals could encourage higher consumption and utilisation as healthy and sustainable ingredients by the food and drink industry.