EFFECT OF LACTIC FERMENTATION AND EXTRUSION OF BEAN AND PEA-SEEDS ON NUTRITIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL-PROPERTIES

Controlled lactic acid fermentation of ''Bomba'' bean and ''Opal'' pea was used to improved their nutritional and functional properties. The modified legumes were used as a sourer for extrusion process to obtai n snack-type foods. Milled legume seeds were fermented by different po pulation of Lactobacillus plantarum with different moisture content in plant material to estimate the influence of this two parameters on th e dynamics of lactic fermentation. Quantitative and qualitative change s in carbohydrates and nitrogen compounds of modified seeds were analy zed (e.g. mono-and oligosaccharides, ''in vitro'' starch and protein d igestibility). In the new snack-type products, functional properties: water (WSI), water absorption index (WAI), expansion index, bulk densi ty and texture explained as a shearing stress were recorded. Results s howed a distinct decrease in raffinose, verbascose and stachyose conte nts even up to 80-90% after fermentation and extrusion process. Lactic fermentation and extrusion of bean and pea seeds contributes to a sig nificant (alpha less than or equal to 0.05) increase of ''in vitro'' p rotein and starch digestibility. Observations of changes in functional properties of extruderates (e.g., expansion, shearing stress, WSI, WA I) allowed to choose the must efficient model of fermentation pretreat ment to obtain the best improvement of nutritional and functional feat ures of the product.