Nutritional, antinutritional properties and breeding strategies for quality improvement in pulses

Pulses play a crucial role in diets due to their high protein content and abundance of minerals and vitamins.With a substantial share of the world's geographical area and output, India is the top producer and consumer of pulses worldwide.The actual intake in India is far lower, averaging about 30-35 g per day, compared to recommendations by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the World Health Organization for daily per capita consumption at 80 g and a minimum of 47 g, respectively.Pulses are historically ingested in many forms alongside cereals and are essential for vegetarian diets.Among food crops, they have the highest protein content often twice that of cereal grains.On the other hand, while cereal grain proteins are rich in sulfur containing amino acids but lacking in lysine; pulse proteins are generally deficient in sulfur containing amino acids such as cystine and methionine.A balanced amino acid profile is ensured by combining pulses and grains; pulses provide lysine, while cereals provide amino acids that include sulfur.Pulses are rich in vitamins (folate, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin), minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron), and a wide range of phytochemicals (phenolics, flavonoids, phytates, lectins, tannins, saponins, oxalates, enzyme inhibitors, phytosterols, and antimicrobial peptides) that may have health benefits.However, several antinutritional compounds, such as trypsin inhibitor, phenolic compounds, phytates, cyanogenic compounds, lectins and saponins are also found in the legumes.Most of the antinutritional compounds of the pulses are present in the seed coat.Most of these compounds are sensitive to heat and can be substantially reduced by milling, cooking, germination, fermentation and heat processing.Due to its low cost and high protein content, pulses are sometimes referred to as "poor people's meat."This review looks at their nutritional characteristics, antinutritional elements, breeding goals, strategies, and successes.