Industrial processing of chickpeas (Cicer arietinum) for protein production

Abstract

The increasing global interest in plant-based proteins stems from concerns about the environmental impact, sustainability, animal welfare, and health implications associated with consuming animal-based proteins. In the frame of alternative protein sources, chickpea (Cicer arietinum) emerged as a rich source of dietary proteins besides containing good amount of carbohydrate, fat, and fiber. As a protein ingredient, chickpea is available in three forms, namely, flour, concentrate, and isolate. This chickpea protein can be extracted using both wet and dry fractionation methods where the former one includes wet extraction followed by isoelectric precipitation, while the later one indicates dry milling followed by air classification. However, different nonthermal emerging technologies have been seen to assist in extracting protein as well as modifying their functionalities. This review gives an outline of the recently available literature on composition, industrial processing and associated technological challenges, functionality, and application of chickpea protein ingredients. Furthermore, discussion on the modification/improvement of chickpea protein functionality with the assistance of emerging technologies and the potentiality of by-products produced during chickpea protein processing are also included. Based on the available findings and discussion, it is seen that apart from being a comparable source of alternative animal-based protein to extract, chickpea derived by-products can also be a potential source of valued ingredients that might contribute to the circular economy.