Quality nutrition through pigeonpea—a review

doi:10.4236/health.2010.211199

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Vol.2, No.11, 1335-1344 (2010)

doi:10.4236/health.2010.211199

Health

Openly accessible at

Quality nutrition through pigeonpea—a review

Kul Bhushan Saxena, Ravikoti Vijaya Kumar*, Rafat Sultana

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Patancheru, India; Corresponding Author:

R.VIJAYKUMAR@CGIAR.ORG

Received 2 April 2010; revised 23 April 2010; accepted 24 May 2010.

ABSTRACT

Protein mal-nutrition is widespread among poor

of developing and under developed countries.

Since animal protein is beyond the reach of this

group, their primary protein supply comes from

plant based products. Amongst these, pigeon-

pea or red gram (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh)

is an important food legume that can be grown

under rainfed conditions with least inputs. Pi-

geonpea is rich in starch, protein, calcium, man-

ganese, crude fiber, fat, trace elements, and mi-

nerals. Besides its high nutritional value, pi-

geonpea is also used as traditional folk medi-

cine in India, China, Philippines and some other

nations. Literature on this aspect show that pi-

geonpea is capable to prevent and cure a num-

ber of human ailments such as bronchitis, cou-

ghs, pneumonia, respiratory infections, dysen-

tery, menstrual disorders, sores, wounds, ab-

dominal tumors, tooth ache, and diabetes.

Keywords: Protein; Pigeonpea; Cajanus Cajan;

Nutrition; Folk Medicine

1. INTRODUCTION

Protein availability in developing countries at present

is about one-third of its normal requirements and with

ever growing human population; various nutritional de-

velopment programs are facing a tough challenge to

meet the targeted protein demand. Legumes in the de-

veloping world are known to offer food proteins that are

generally grown under risk-prone marginal lands with

low inputs. Among the legumes pigeonpea or red gram

(Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh) occupies an important

place in rainfed agriculture. Globally, it is cultivated on

4.79 M ha in 22 countries [1] but with only a few major

producers. In Asia, India (3.58 M ha), Myanmar

(560,000 ha), and Nepal (20,703 ha) are important pi-

geonpea producing countries. In African continent, Kenya

(196,261 ha), Malawi (123,000 ha), Uganda (86,000 ha),

Mozambique (85,000 ha), and Tanzania (68,000 ha) pro-

duce considerable amounts of pigeonpea. The Caribbean

islands and some South American countries also have

reasonable areas under pigeonpea cultivation.

The presence of high genetic diversity made [2-4], to

believe that India is the primary center of origin of cul-

tivated pigeonpea from where it spread to Africa about

4000 years ago. There are several local names of Ca-

janus cajan in different parts of the world [5]. Among

these “pigeonpea” is the globally popular name that was

coined by [6] in Barbados, where the crop was grown in

barren lands for feeding its seeds to pigeons. In India it

is popularly known as red gram, tur, or arhar. Pigeonpea

is a perennial plant (Figure 1) and it can survive up to

3-4 years [5]. It is a short-day plant with a high sensitiv-

ity to photo-periodic changes. There are two major growth

patterns in pigeonpea; the determinate types which pro-

duce pods in clusters at the top of the canopy and its

further growth ceases after flowering that results in more

or less uniform maturity. The other and most common

growth habit is non-determinate type, where the pods are

borne in axillary clusters. In general, the later types can

tolerate major biotic and abiotic stresses due to their

inherent capacity to regenerate. The traditional pigeon-

pea cultivars and most landraces are tall and take about

180-280 days to mature. However some early maturing

Figure 1. A commercial crop of pigeonpea.

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1336

Openly accessible at

cultivars are also now available [5].

In India, de-hulled split cotyledons (Figure 2(a)) of

pigeonpea seeds are cooked to make dal (thick soup) for

eating with bread and rice; while in southern and eastern

Africa, and South America its whole dry seeds (Figure

2(b)) are used in a porridge like recipe. The fully grown

seeds of pigeonpea when, harvested green (Figure 2(c))

before loosing their green color, are used as fresh, frozen,

or canned vegetable. Its broken seeds, skin, and pod

walls are fed to domestic animals; and the dry stems are

used as domestic fuel wood. In tropics and sub tropics

pigeonpea is considered a life line of subsistence agri-

culture. Pigeonpea plant is known to provide several

benefits to soil such as fixing atmospheric nitrogen, add-

ing organic matter and micro nutrients, and breaking

hard plough pan with its long tap roots and, thereby

sometimes referred as “biological plough”. Pigeonpea

can be grown successfully in a wide range of soil types

and is capable of producing reasonable quantities of nu-

tritive food even in the degraded soils and with mini-

mum external inputs.

2. NUTRITIONAL QUALITY

Pal [7] published the first information on biological

value, net protein content, essential amino acids, and

digestibility of different pulses. In this study pigeonpea

was rated the best as far as its biological value was con-

cerned; and it was recommended that for a balanced

vegetarian diet pigeonpea should be eaten with rice. Re-

ferences [8-10] reported large variability for various

chemical constituents and nutritive value of pigeonpea.

It is to be noted that besides inherent genotypic differ-

ences, some degree of variation in protein content can

also arise due to differences in environmental conditions

where the crop was grown, methods of sampling and

analyses, and seed storage conditions and its duration.

2.1. Nutritional Value of Dry Seeds

Pigeonpea seeds are made up of 85% cotyledons, 14%

seed coat, and about 1% embryo, and contain a variety

of dietary nutrients [11]. The cotyledons are rich in car-

bohydrates (66.7%) while a major proportion (about

50%) of seed protein is located in embryo. About

one-third of seed coat is made up of fiber. The quantities

of important sulfur-containing amino acids such as me-

thionine and cystine range around 1% and they are pre-

sent in cotyledons and embryo; while calcium is pre-

dominantly present in seed coat and embryo. Singh [12]

found that the globulins constitute about 65% of total

proteins. In general, pigeonpea is not rated superior for

sulfur-containing amino acids [13], but it is not linked

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 2. (a) Dehulled split cotyledons (dal); (b) Whole dry

seeds of pigeonpea; (c) Vegetable pigeonpea seeds.

with low methionine content [14]. In comparison to other

protein fractions, globulin is rather inferior in sulfur-

containing amino acids while albumin has high amino

acid content. In pigeonpea seed the proportion of prola-

min is low while sugars such as stachyose and verbas-

cose are high [15].

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1337

Table 1. Distribution of nutrients in green seed, mature seed, and dal1 of pigeonpea.

Constituent/cooking time Green seed Mature seed Dal1

Protein (%)

Protein digestibility (%)

Trypsin inhibitor (units mg-1)

21.0

66.8

2.8

18.8

58.5

9.9

24.6

60.5

13.5

Starch content (%)

Starch digestibility (%)

Amylase inhibitor (units mg-1)

48.4

53.0

17.3

53.0

36.2

26.9

57.6

Soluble sugars (%) 5.1 3.1 5.2

Flatulence factors (g 100g-1souble sugar) 10.3 53.5 -

Crude fibre (%) 8.2 6.6 1.2

Fat (%) 2.3 1.9 1.6

Minerals and trace elements (mg 100g-1)

Calcium

Magnesium

Copper

Iron

Zinc

94.6

113.7

1.4

4.6

2.5

120.8

122.0

1.3

3.9

2.3

16.3

78.9

1.3

2.9

3.0

Cooking time (min) 13 53 18

1 = split seeds with seed coat removed; Source: [74].

Table 2. Genotypic variation for major anti-nutritional factors

in pigeonpea.

Factor Genotypes Range

Total phenols (mg g-1) 14 3.0-18.3

Tannins (mg g-1) 10 0.0-0.2

Trypsin inhibitor (units mg-1) 9 8.1-12.1

Chymotrypsin inhibitor (units mg-1)9 2.1-3.6

Amylase inhibitor (units g-1) 9 22.5-34.2

Raffinose (g 100 g-1) 10 0.24-1.05

Stachyose (g 100 g-1) 9 0.35-0.86

Stachyose + verbascose (g 100 g-1) - 41.60-2.30

Source: [75].

2.2. Nutritional Value of Immature

(Vegetable) Seeds

In general, green pigeonpea seeds (vegetable pigeon-

pea) are considered superior to dry splits in nutrition.

The observations recorded at ICRISAT showed that pi-

geonpea dal was better than green peas with respect to

starch and protein (Table 1). On the contrary, the green

pigeonpea seeds had higher crude fiber, fat, and protein

digestibility. As far as trace and mineral elements was

concerned, the green pea was better in phosphorus by

28.2%, potassium by 17.2%, zinc by 48.3%, copper by

20.9%, and iron by 14.7%. The dal, however, had 19.2%

more calcium and 10.8% more manganese [11]. Singh

[16] reported that the vegetable type pigeonpea had high

poly-saccharides and low crude fiber content than dal,

irrespective of their seed sizes. They also reported that

crude fiber contents in vegetable pigeonpea and garden

pea (Pisum sativum) were comparable. There was a vast

range in size and color in immature pods and mostly the

consumer preference was for large green pods; however,

these traits were not related to any organoleptic property

of seeds. In pigeonpea, seed and pod size are positively

correlated and the varieties with large pods invariability

have large immature and dry seeds.

2.3. Nutritional Changes in Developing

Seeds

In a commercial vegetable pigeonpea crop it is essen-

tial that a balance be established between seed yield and

its nutrition quality. To achieve this, the green pods have

to be harvested at a proper stage of seed growth. At Pa-

tancheru (17˚N), it takes about 45-50 days from flower-

ing to seed maturity while vegetable pods are ready to

harvest in about 25-35 days from flowering. In pigeon-

pea, the pods grow rapidly and attain their full size in

about 20 days. During this period, the young seeds

(ovules) inside the pod remain intact but do not attain

significant weight. Soon after achieving its normal pod

size, the seeds grow rapidly for the next 10-12 days to

achieve their optimum size.

From nutritional and marketing points of view, it is

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1338

essential that the green pods are picked at a proper stage

to reap maximum seed yield with highest nutritional

quality. In this context, Singh [17] observed that in grow-

ing seeds the starch content was negatively associated

with their protein and sugar contents. The amount of cru-

de fiber content in the growing seeds increased slowly

with maturation. The soluble sugars and proteins de-

creased in the developing seeds but the starch content

increased rapidly between 24 and 32 days after flower-

ing. Meiners [18] showed that the minerals and trace ele-

ments such as calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and cop-

per remained more or less constant and did not change

markedly during seed development in pigeonpea.

2.4. Nutritional Value of Split Peas (DAL)

Carbohydrates (67%) and protein (22%) are main con-

stituents of pigeonpea seeds [11]. Hulse [19] reported

that the seed protein among cultivars ranged around 22%.

The quality of protein is determined by its quantity and

digestibility, and amino acid contents. In pigeonpea the

amino acid such as lysine and threonines are in good

proportions, while methionine and cystine are deficient

[12]. Pigeonpea cotyledons are also rich in calcium and

iron.

Saxena [20] used wild relatives of pigeonpea as high

protein donor parents and demonstrated that seed protein

content in cultivated types can be enhanced through

conventional breeding. Singh [21] assessed these high

protein lines for their chemical composition. They re-

ported large differences between the levels of protein in

high-protein (28.7 to 31.1%) lines and control cultivars

(23.1 to 24.8%). As expected, the starch component in

high-protein lines was relatively less (54.3 to 55.6 %)

than that of controls (58.7 to 59.3%). Also the high-pro-

tein lines were marginally lowers (2.5 to 2.6%) in fat

content when compared with control cultivars (2.9 to

3.1%). The differences in the major protein fractions of

the high and normal-protein lines were also large. In

comparison to controls (60.3 to 60.5%), the globulin

fraction was higher (63.5 to 66.2%) in the high-protein

lines and the reverse was true for glutelin.

2.5. Anti-Nutritional Factors

Like other legumes, pigeonpea seeds also contain some

anti-nutritional factors (Table 2). These include oligo-sac-

charides (raffinose and verbascose), polyphenols (phenols

and tannins), phytolectins, and enzyme inhibitors (tryp-

sin, chymotrypsin, and amylase). According to Kamath

[22], pigeonpea seeds also have some amounts of un-

available carbohydrates which adversely affect the bio-

availability of certain vital nutrients. Some of the anti-

nutritional factors such as phytolectins are heat sensitive

and are destroyed during cooking.

Godbole [23] reported protease inhibitors in seven-

day old seeds; while Ambekar [24] found that such in-

hibitors are either not synthesized or inactive up to 28

days of the seed development. No other plant part except

seed exhibited trypsin or chymotrypsin inhibitors [25].

The white seeded pigeonpea cultivars contain relatively

less amounts of polyphenols. Such cultivars are prefer-

red in many countries where de-hulling facilities are not

available and whole seeds are consumed. In comparison

to the white seeded cultivars the red seeded types con-

tain three times greater quantity of polyphenols [26].

Similarly, the enzyme inhibition activity was also greater

in the colored seeds of pigeonpea. Since in India almost

entire pigeonpea production (3.2 m tones) are de-hulled

and converted into dal for consumption, the tannins pre-

sent in the colored seed coat pose no nutritional problem.

3. COOKING QUALITY

Pigeonpea seeds in the form of either dry, green, or

split peas are invariably consumed after cooking. There-

fore, besides various nutritional aspects the cooking time

and other related parameters assume importance. Con-

sumers always prefer a dal that cooks fast and produces

more volume upon cooking with high consistency and

flavor. Cooking time of dal is independent of taste and

flavor [9]. Jambunathan [27] studied various physico-

chemical characters of pigeonpea, and reported that quick

cooking trait of dal was associated with large seed size,

high solid dispersal, more water absorption, and high

nitrogen solubility. Narasimha [28] and Pal [7] reported

a positive association of cooking time of pigeonpea seeds

with their calcium and magnesium contents. According

to Salunkhe [29], cooking of pigeonpea improved the

bio-availability of nutrients and at the same time de-

storyed some anti-nutritional factors. Heat treatment of

pigeonpea seeds is also known to enhance their starch

digestibility. The lines, which take long time to cook,

generally face the danger of loosing important vitamins

from food. Cooking pigeonpea seed after germination

enhances their starch digestibility [30] but reduces the

levels of oligo-saccharides [31]. The fermentation of

seeds helps in reducing inhibitory activity of digestive

enzymes [32]. Geervani [33] reported that thiamine and

riboflavine were destroyed by heat but niacin content

was unaltered during boiling, pressure cooking, and roa-

sting of pigeonpea seeds. She further found that the avai-

lability of lysine and methionine decreased on roasting

but the available methionine increased on boiling and

pressure-cooking.

4. NUTRIENT LOSSES DURING

STORAGE AND PROCESSING

Pigeonpea is predominantly cultivated by small holder

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1339

farmers and they generally store the whole seeds for

over 6-12 months round-the-year for consumption. In ru-

ral areas the farmers’ process small quantities of grain as

and when needed, and they do de-hulling by hand-oper-

ated traditional grinding stones called chakki or quern.

Since in pigeonpea the cotyledons are attached tightly

with seed coat by various gums, the de-hulling involves

the process of dissolving the gum layers by soaking

whole seeds in water, heat treatment, or adding oil after

surface scarification. This is followed by drying, de-husk-

ing, and splitting of cotyledons. During this process the

losses of certain proportions of cotyledons are inevitable,

and it is estimated that by using advanced processing

technology about 15%-17% of grain mass is lost; while

with chakki such losses may shoot up to 20%-25%.

In rural areas, the seeds are generally stored in gunny

bags or bins made of mud and husk. According to Daniel

[34], food grains containing more than 10 mg uric acid

per 100 g of food are unfit for human consumption. Pi-

geonpea seeds when stored for eight months turned unfit

for consumption as their total uric acid content crossed

the safe prescribed limit [35]. Cooking time of pigeon-

pea in general increased with storage time [36]. Daniel

[34] reported that lysine, threonine, and protein effi-

ciency ratios were adversely affected in pigeonpea when

the seeds were stored in jute bags. The storage of pi-

geonpea seeds also resulted in the loss of vitamins. Such

losses were less (10%-26%) in the protected seed and

high (32%-49%) in the infested seeds [37]. Thiamine and

niacin contents also registered decline during storage.

Factors such as moisture, temperature, relative humidity,

and seed hardness determined the extent of quality losses

during storage [38].

Reddy [39] reported that in comparison to inner layers

of cotyledons the outer layers are rich in protein. From

nutrition point of view, this is a matter of concern since

de-hulling not only removes protein-rich germ but also

some proportion of the outer layers of the cotyledons.

Singh [40] further observed that de-hulling also removes

about 20% calcium and 30% iron. According to Kurien

[41], the dal yield under controlled conditions achieves

an efficiency of 80%-84% but at commercial level the

recovery remains around 70%. Therefore, with a combi-

nation of a superior variety and efficient processing tech-

nology, the nutrient availability can be maximized.

5. ENVIRONMENT AND PROTEIN

The growth and development of pigeonpea plants are

known to be highly influenced by environmental factors

such as temperature, photoperiod, available moisture,

soil nutrition etc. The large variation observed for protein

content of pure lines over locations or years is a good

example of the role that environment can play in the ex-

pression of this trait. Sham [42] reported significant ef-

fects of location and fertilizer application on pigeonpea

seed protein. Oke [43] found that incorporation of 20

ppm sulfur alone or in combination with phosphorus in-

creased methionine content of pigeonpea.

Saxena [44] observed significant differences for pro-

tein content across locations and months. The same vari-

ety, when grown in different months at a particular loca-

tion showed significant variation in its protein content.

For example, in cultivar “Prabhat” planted at Patancheru

(17˚N) over 12 months, the seed protein content ranged

from 21.6% to 25.2%; similarly at Pantnagar (29˚N), in

10 plantings within a year, the protein content of cultivar

Prabhat ranged between 24.5% and 27.9%.

6. MEDICINAL USES

Plant kingdom had been considered from a long time

a reservoir of folk medicines. The herbal medicines, also

called as phyto-medicines, refer to using a plant or its

part such as leaves, flowers, fruits, bark, or seeds for me-

dicinal purposes. Since ancient periods and long before

any recorded history China, India, and Egypt were the

leaders in folk medicines. The ancient Chinese and Egy-

ptian papyrus writings described various medicinal uses

of some plant species. The native Africans and Ameri-

cans also used different herbs in a number of healing

rituals. The herbal medicine system has a long tradition

of usage outside the boundaries of synthetic medicine

system. With the advent of improved chemical analytical

methods along with quality control technologies and

advances in clinical research, the value of herbal medi-

cines increased in treating and preventing of some hu-

man diseases. Subsequently, effective traditional medical

systems such as “Ayurveda” in India and “Traditional

Chinese Medicine” in China were developed with a fairly

good recognition. Slowly the people in different parts of

the world also started using the common herbal plants

for medicinal purposes.

In the early 19th century, when the first chemical ana-

lysis became available, the scientists began to extract the

active ingredients from selected plant species for phar-

maceutical usage and some chemists started synthesizing

targeted plant compounds in their laboratories. Gradually,

the usage of herbal medicines declined in favor of syn-

thetic drugs. However, the World Health Organization

estimated that 80% of people worldwide, particularly

from developing and under-developed countries, still

rely on herbal medicines for some part of their primary

health care. In Germany, about 600-700 plant-based me-

dicines are still prescribed by 70% of the Physicians.

Recently, some of the developed countries have also

shown interest in the natural or organic remedies [45].

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1340

6.1. Herbal Properties

Pigeonpea is being used as an integral part of tradi-

tional folk medicine in India, China, and some other de-

veloping countries [46]. The importance of pigeonpea

plant in ethnical folk medicine is well known in the pre-

vention and cure of certain human ailments and its brief

account is given below:

Flowers: Pigeonpea floral decoctions are traditionally

used for treating ailments such as bronchitis, coughs, and

pneumonia. Pigeonpea flowers are also prepared into a

“tea” for treating upper respiratory infections and pain.

The flowers, when prepared in an infusion, are used for

treating dysentery and menstrual disorders.

Seeds: Scorched seeds, when added to coffee alleviate

headache and vertigo. Fresh seeds are believed to help

incontinence of urine in males, while immature seeds are

recommended for treatment of kidney ailments [47]. Pi-

geonpea seeds are infused to make a diuretic “tea” for

inflammation and blood disorders. In South America pi-

geonpea seeds are used for febrifuge, stabilization of the

menstrual period and dysentery [48]; in Africa pigeon-

pea seeds are used for treating hepatitis and measles [49].

In Mexico, pigeonpea seeds are used as styptic drug and

laxative; while in China these are used to arrest bleeding,

relieve pain, kill worms, and as an expectorant and seda-

tive drug [50,51]. Some herbal researchers are of the opi-

nion that pigeonpea diminishes swelling of internal or-

gans such as liver, intestines etc. Clinical studies have

also shown that the seed extract of pigeonpea helps in

inhibiting sickling of red blood cells and therefore, has

potential to treat the person suffering from sickle cell

anemia [52].

Roots: Dried roots of pigeonpea are sometimes used

as an alexeritic, anthelminthic, expectorant, sedative, and

vulnerary.

Leaves: In India pigeonpea leaves are used for curing

sores, wounds, abdominal tumors, and diabetes [53,54].

The leaves of the pigeonpea are decocted in Argentina

for treating acute bronchial problems and genital and skin

irritations. The young leaves of pigeonpea can be chew-

ed for treating cough, diarrhea [55], traumatism, burnt

infection, bedsore, toothache, mouthwash, sore gums,

child-delivery, and dysentery [56,57]. It was also found

that pigeonpea leaves have notable anti-inflammatory

and antibiotic effects; and also inhibit capillary perme-

ability [58]. In China, pigeonpea is considered as an ex-

cellent “Traditional Chinese Medicine” for therapy of

ischemic necrosis of femoral head. The leaves are pre-

pared in an infusion for overcoming anemia, hepatitis,

urinary infections, yellow fever, and ulcers. In Brazil,

pigeonpea leaves are infused for coughs, fevers, and

ulcers.

6.2. Chemical Constituents of Leaves

In order to know the major chemical constituents of

pigeonpea leaves, efforts were made to isolate and iden-

tify various active chemical compounds. The research

efforts revealed that some polyphenols, especially fla-

vonoids, play an important role in curing certain human

ailments [59-62]. The four major flavonoids identified in

the extracts of pigeonpea leaves are quercetin, luteolin,

apigenin, and isorhamnetin. These compounds are known

for their important pharmacological activities [56,63,64].

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds, which are widely

found in plant kingdom. As intrinsic components of fruits,

vegetables, and beverages many of the 4000 different

flavonoids known to-date, are present in a common

regular diet [65]. Pigeonpea leaves also contain other

compounds such as hordenine, juliflorine, betulinic acid,

stigmasterol, beta-sitosterol, etc. In recent years, exten-

sive research is being carried on various antibacterial,

anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory

properties of these flavonoids [66-68].

7. GENETIC ENHANCEMENT OF

PROTEIN CONTENT

In most third world countries supply of staple food has

failed to keep pace with population growth and, there-

fore, breeding for high quality foods never received a

priority and the resources were always diverted for en-

hancing yield of major food crops. Considering the state

of protein malnutrition in most developing and under-

developed countries, the genetic enhancement of seed

protein in pigeonpea was initiated at ICRISAT.

To start a high protein breeding program, information

on the genetic control of protein content is essential.

Saxena [69] reported the role of both additive and non-

additive gene actions in determining protein content and

it was found to be controlled by 3-4 genes [70] that were

recessive in nature [71]. Since the genetic variation for

protein in primary (cultivated) gene pool was limited,

the high-protein sources available in the secondary (wild)

gene pool such as Cajanus sericeus, C. lineatus, and C.

scarabaeoides were used in breeding. This program su-

ccessfully developed some high protein (26.9%-27.4%)

lines with good seed size (9.6-10.5 g 100-1 seeds), and

high seed yield (1660-2096 kg ha-1). The evaluation of

these high-protein lines revealed that from one hectare of

field 350-450 kg crude protein can be harvested, reflect-

ing an additional harvest of 80-100 kg protein ha-1. Cul-

tivation of such lines will markedly improve availability

of protein to farmers without sacrificing seed yield.

The results of rat feeding trials of these high-protein

lines showed that boiled dal was comparable to the con-

trol in true protein digestibility, biological value, and net

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1341

protein utilization [21]. They further concluded that the

high-protein lines were nutritionally superior to normal-

protein cultivars as the former contain quantitatively more

utilizable protein and sulfur containing amino acids.

8. CULTIVATION OF PIGEONPEA

Early maturing varieties are short in stature and re-

quire high (about 300,000 plants ha-1) density in contrast

to late maturing types which need 40,000-50,000 plants

ha-1 for optimum yields. For backyard and bund cultiva-

tion the pigeonpea plants are maintained for more than

one year and they attain a height of over 3 m. The pods

are picked for house-hold use, as and when required. No

specific agronomic practices are followed in this system.

For local market relatively large populations are grown

on field bunds, mainly around paddy fields. In this sys-

tem, 3-4 seeds are sown in a single hill and the plants

produce a large number of branches on either side of the

bund. For peri-urban commercial crop, a field with known

history of good soil fertility and drainage should be se-

lected. The sowings on raised beds with appropriate slo-

pe is ideal for pigeonpea. Application of 100 kg ha-1 of

di-ammonium phosphate and other soil amendments for

the known soil deficiencies are advisable before sowing.

Sowing should be undertaken at the onset of rainy sea-

son with row-to-row and plant-to-plant spacing of 100

cm and 50 cm, respectively. The seeds are placed about

5 cm deep and covered firmly with soil. For weed con-

trol spraying of a pre-emergence herbicide such as Ba-

salin @ 1.5 L ha-1, followed by two hand weeding are

enough to control rainy season weeds. Irrigation is gen-

erally not recommended if the crop is grown for domes-

tic consumption on deep Vertisols. In pigeonpea insect

control is very vital. Pod borers (Helicoverpa armigera

and Maruca vitrata), pod fly (Melanagromyza obtusa),

and blister beetle (Mylabris pustulata) are major pi-

geonpea insects. These may cause severe damage to seed

yield and quality. To control these insects appropriate

chemical control is essential. Fusarium wilt and sterility

mosaic are two major pigeonpea diseases. Wilt is caused

by a soil-borne fungus Fusarium udum Butler while ste-

rility mosaic is caused by virus. At present a number of

disease resistant cultivars are available and the losses

can be minimized by using such cultivars.

9. PIGEONPEA IN RURAL DIETS

In pigeonpea methionine, cystine, tryptophan and thre-

onine are the limiting essential amino acids, whereas in

rice and wheat lysine is the limiting amino acid. A food

combining both cereals and pulses provide a balanced

diet because they complement the amino acid profiles of

each other. The mutual quality compensation is closest

to the ideal value when the ratio by weight of cereals to

legume is roughly 70:30 [19]. In southern and eastern

Africa this ratio is 90:10, reflecting shortage of protein

in the diet. Daniel [72] studied supplementation of cereal

diets with various proportions of pigeonpea and reported

that supplementation of ration with pigeonpea signifi-

cantly enhanced the nutritive value of diet. Supplemen-

tation of rice diet with 8.5% and 16.7% pigeonpea dal

markedly improved the quality of diet. Similarly, Kurien

[41] demonstrated that a supplement of pigeonpea in

maize diet significantly improved the quality of food.

Bidinger [73] observed that pigeonpea was by far the

most preferred pulse crop in Indian villages and its con-

sumption patterns differed widely by age group, farm

size, and the village. The consumption rate was found

linear with small farmers consuming the least amount

and the large farmers the most. National Institute of Nu-

trition in India recommends cereal: pulse ratio of 3:1 for

very young children, 5:1 for women, and 6:1 for men. In

most of the cases, rural diets standards could not be met.

Bidinger [73] further reported that 10% of protein and

5% of energy in the village diets came from pigeonpea.

The maximum lysine provided from the diet was 21.7%.

These values are low and reflect low consumption of

legumes.

10. SUMMARY

Legumes are a rich source of food proteins that are ge-

nerally grown under risk—prone marginal lands. Amongst

various food legumes, pigeonpea occupies an important

place and has been rated the best as far as its biological

value is concerned. It has been recommended for a bal-

anced diet with cereals, especially to fill in the nutri-

tional gap for proteins amongst the poorer section in

developing economies that cannot afford a non-vegeta-

rian diet. At present, the protein availability in develop-

ing countries is about one-third of normal requirements

and with ever growing population; various nutritional

development programs are facing a tough challenge to

meet the protein demand.

In general, pigeonpea can be grown both as annual

crop or perennial plants in homestead and is consumed

either as decorticated splits or green seeds as vegetables.

It has been found that vegetable pigeonpea are consi-

dered superior to dry splits in crude fiber, fat, protein

digestibility as well as trace elements and minerals. Be-

sides its nutritional value, pigeonpea also possesses va-

rious medicinal properties due to presence of a number

of polyphenols and flavonoides. It is an integral part of

traditional folk medicine in India, China, and some other

nations. Pigeonpea is known to prevent and cure human

ailments like bronchitis, coughs, pneumonia, respiratory

K. B. Saxena et al. / HEALTH 2 (2010) 1335-1344

1342

Openly accessible at

infections, pain, dysentery, menstrual disorders, curing

sores, wounds, abdominal tumors, and diabetes in tradi-

tional folk medicine.

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