Germinated or Fermented Legumes

Germinated or Fermented Legumes: Food or Ingredients of Functional Food
Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2003 Dec;53(4):348-54.
[Article in Spanish] Davila MA, Sangronis E, Granito M.
Universidad Simon Bolivar, Laboratorio de Analisis de Alimentos, Caracas-Venezuela.

Epidemiological research has shown a positive association between certain diseases and dietary intake of food components found in fruits, grains, legumes, fish oil among others. Food that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients that it contains, are named functional food. In addition to the varied nutrients, legumes contain compounds such as polyphenols, soluble fiber, alpha-galactosides and isoflavones which confer propierties of functional foods. Do to the cuse of flatus production in some people, long cooking periods, or anti-nutritional factors, legume consumption levels are limited. In this review, germination and fermentation processes will be presented as alternatives that are able to reduce or inactivate anti-nutritional factors, preserve and even improve the content of the isoflavones, or better the potencial of the legumes as functional food or as ingredients for the formulation of functional foods.