Physicochemical and Nutritional Aspects of Cowpea Flour

Cowpea ( Vigna ungiiculata ) flour was prepared by soaking.the beans in 25°C tap water for 18 hr, drying in an air draft, milling to a coarse powder, removing the seed coat by an air jet, autoclaving the powder at 121°C for 10 min, redrying in an air draft and grinding to a fine flour. Ths flour was creamy‐white, free‐flowing, nonhy‐groscopic and dispersed readily in water. The conversion of cowpeas to flour resulted in 10% loss of thiamin and riboflavin and 30% loss of niacin. Also the flour contained less K, P, and Mg but more Ca and Na than the raw cowpeas.