The water-holding capacity of three starchy legumes in the raw, cooked and fibre-rich fraction forms.

The role of dietary fibre on the water-holding capacity (WHC), as a functional property of starchy legumes, was investigated. The WHCs of butter beans, broad beans and lentils were found to be in the range 1.35-1.82 g water/g in the raw forms, and in the range 1.81-2.63 g water/g for the cooked forms, with a contribution of 35.9-56.1% by the equivalent fibre-rich fractions (FRFs). Non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) were found to be in the range 14.1-18.1 and 27.1-38.1 g/100 g for the three legumes and their FRFs, respectively. Arabinoxylans, which enhance the WHC, were found at levels of 8.6-11.6% concentration in the NSPs of the FRFs.