Antinutritional Factor
Trypsin inhibitors
• Protein in nature. Interfere with activity of enzyme trypsin in
the gut.
• Interfere with digestibility of dietary protein and reduce their
utilization.
• Pancrease enlargement and growth retardation occur in
animals that consume diet containing trypsin inhibitors.
• Release of essential amino acids, like methionine is hampered
by presence of inhibitors.
• They are generally heat labile.
• Ex. Soya beans, kidney beans
• Autoclaving at 120˚C for 15- 30 min is capable of inactivating all
trypsin inhibitors.
Lathyrogens
• Lathyrism is a disease nervous disease that cripples man.
This is entirely preventable.
•The disease is due to excessive consumption of pulse
Lathyrus sativas (Khesari dhal)
• khesari dhal is some time use as adulterant in other
dhals.
•When khesari dhal become main source of energy
providing more than 50% a severe disease of spinal cord
may result.
Processing of Dhal before consumption
❑ Steeping process
• Water four times the quantity of seeds is first brought to a boil.
• Seeds are soaked in hot water for two hours.
• Water is drained off.
• The seeds are washed with cold fresh water and sundried.
• 80 to 90% toxins is removed by this method.
❑ Parboiling process
• The seeds are soaked in cold water for 12 hours.
• Then the seeds are steamed for 20 to 30 min.
• Again seeds are soaked for one hour and dried.
• 80-90% of toxin is leach out by this process.
Favism
• Favism is a disease characterised by haemolytic anaemia that
occurs when individuals who are deficient in glucose-6-
phosphate dehydrogenase consume faba beans or broad
beans.
• In susceptible individuals the level of glutathione in the
erythrocytes is reduced.
• Three compounds are responsible for this; two are glycosides
known as vicine and covicine and third is an amino acid
derivative known as dihydroxy phenyl alanine DOPA.
• These are present only in cotyledons of the beans, the hulls
being essentially free.
• Germination and boiling reduces these toxic substances.
• Haemagglutinins
❑ Protein in nature, sometime referred as phyto agglutinins or
lectins.
❑ Widely occur in leguminous seeds.
❑ The lectins interact with dipepetidesases, disaccharidases and
other enzyme involved in nutrient digestion and uptake.
❑ Haamagglutinins are heat labile.
❑ Ability to agglutinate RBCs
❑ They combine with cells of the intestinal wall lining impairing
absorption of amino acids, resulting in poor growth.
❑ ex kidney beans and field bean
Goitrogens
❑Interfere with iodine uptake thereby causing thyroid gland
enlargement.
❑Thiocynate, isothiocyanate and their derivatives are present in
soya beans, groundnuts, lentils.
❑These prevent oxidation of iodine so that it cannot be utilized
for the production of thyroxine.
❑Excessive intake of these foods in the face of marginal intake of
iodine from foods and water may lead to goitre.
❑Heating and cooking overcome there further release.
Phytic acid
❑Ability to form insoluble salts with iron, calcium and other
minerals rendering them unavailable for absorption.
❑Easy to remove by germination and they are water soluble.
Saponins
❑They produce lather or foam when shaken with water, just like
soaps.
❑They are bitter in taste and chemically they are glycosides with
high molecular weight.
❑They induce nausea and vomiting.
❑Removed by soaking the pulse before cooking it.
• Tannins
❑ Polyphenolics compounds are known as tannins.
❑ Bind iron and interfere with iron absorption.
❑ Tannin interfere with digestive action of trypsin and alpha
amylase rendering the dietary protein and carbohydrate
indigestible.
❑ Also bind proteins and reduce their availability.
❑ Present in high amounts in seed coat.
❑ Removal of seed coat reduces the tannin content.
Amylase inhibitors –
❑Interfere with carbohydrates digestion.
❑Cow peas, chick peas and lenils are free of these inhibitors
Antivitamin factors-
❑Interfere with vitamin absorption
❑Kidney beans contain anti-vitamin E which causes necrosis of
liver and muscular dystrophy.
❑Raw soya beans contains lipoxidase which oxidises Vitamin A
and Carotenes in foods resulting in reduced plasma Vitamin A
and carotene.
Oligosaccharides
• They are gas generating factors in legumes. Legume seeds,
which produce digestive gases in humans and animals,
contain oligosaccharides of raffinose, stachyose and
verbascose.
• As the duration of cooking increases, a decrease is observed
in oligosaccharide content. Moreover, a decrease in
oligosaccharide content also occurs when soaking water is
poured, seeds are washed a second time or seeds are
germinated.
• It is known that flatulent substances, which belong to the
indigestible fibers group, reduce the risk of intestinal cancer,
fortifies the immune system, increases excretion frequency
and weight as well as H DL cholesterol level.
thyroxine, also called 3,5,3′,5′-tetraiodothyronine,
or T4, one of the two major hormones secreted by
the thyroid gland (the other is
triiodothyronine). Thyroxine’s principal function is to
stimulate the consumption of oxygen and thus
the metabolism of all cells and tissues in the body.
Thyroxine is formed by the molecular addition
of iodine to the amino acid tyrosine while the latter is
bound to the protein thyroglobulin. Excessive secretion
of thyroxine in the body is known as hyperthyroidism
Lathyrogen
A series of organic compounds was tested for
lathyrogenic activity; lathyrogenic compounds
were shown to fall into 4 groups—nitriles,
ureides, and 2 new groups—hydrazides and
hydrazines, forming a spectrum of diminishing
potency in their ability to produce solubility of
collagen and skeletal deformities.
