Oligosaccharides in several Philippine indigenous food legumes: determination, localization and removal.

The oligosaccharide profile of raw mature seeds of seven different legumes indigenous to the Philippines was measured in 70% ethanol extracts of the seeds by thin layer chromatography using HPTLC plates and quantified by a densitometer. Based on the results, the legumes could be ranked according to decreasing oligosaccharide content or flatulence potential as follows: Sam-samping (Clitoria ternatea) greater than hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) greater than sabawel (Mucuna pruriens) greater than lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) greater than swordbean (Canavalia gladiata) greater than rice bean (Vigna umbellata) greater than jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis). Sam-samping had 4.79% total oligosaccharides and hyacinth bean or batao, 3.66%. A jack bean accession had 1.79% oligosaccharides. Simple processing methods were tested to detoxify the oligosaccharides. Soaking the batao seeds had no effect while boiling even resulted in a net 23-31% increase in the levels of raffinose, stachyose and verbascose. On the other hand, two min of dry roasting resulted in complete removal of oligosaccharides whereas germination resulted in about 30-40% decrease after 1 and 2 days, respectively.

Effect of gamma-Irradiation on the Biosynthesis of Carotenoids in the Tomato Fruit.

Fruits of the lutescent tomato genetic line were exposed to gamma-radiation at different stages of maturity to determine the effect of ionizing radiation on carotenoid synthesis in the ripening fruit. Irradiation generally resulted in the inhibition of carotenogenesis. The effect was more pronounced at the higher dosage and in less mature fruit. Lycopene synthesis was inhibited more extensively than beta-carotene synthesis. The total carotenoid content was also generally lower in irradiated fruits. It was proposed that the beta-carotene in the tomato fruit is formed by a pathway not involving lycopene.