The work objective was analyzing, in chickpea seeds not irradiated, the centesimal and mineral composition to verifying the alterations on the nutritional characteristics caused by the cooking process. Also were carried out analysis of the iron availability in vitro, protein digestibility in vitro and the profile of amino acids in the raw and cooked in the control and irradiated seeds (doses of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 kGy). The results of the mineral analysis showed that only phosphorus decrease significantly (p<0.05) with cooking process. At the centesimal composition, ash and carbohydrates available decreased significantly (p<0,05). In the control and in the doses of 4 and 6 kGy the cooking hasn't influenced the digestibility of the protein, but the treatments that received radiation doses of 2, 8 and 10 kGy were influenced. The cooked chickpea has shown better digestibility in higher doses of radiation although the treatments have shown low digestibility. The raw chickpea presented a better dialysis of iron in the control and in the doses 2 and 4 kGy and the cooked chickpea presented improvement according to the increase of radiation doses. In relation to essential amino acids, chickpea has presented an adequate nutritional value, except for methionine.
chickpea; digestibility; protein; availability; iron
