General introduction to cereals and pulses

Cereals:
Cereals are monocotyledonous plants that belong to the grass family. Based on botanists
approximation, there are about 350,000 plant species, of which about 195,000 species are
economically important flowering plants.
Nearly 50 species are cultivated worldwide and as few as 17 species provide 90% of
human food supply and occupy about 75% of the total tilled land on earth.
They consist of wheat, rice, corn, potato, barley, sweet potato, cassava, soybean, oat,
sorghum, millet, rye, peanut, field bean.
The cereal grains such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, oat, rye, sorghum, and millet provide
50% of the food energy and 50% of the protein consumed on earth.
Wheat, rice, and corn together make up three-fourths of the worlds grain production.
In general, cereal grains have been considered as the source of carbohydrates to supply
food energy to the diet.
Cereal grains, especially rice and wheat, provide the bulk of energy consumed on earth
(Stoskopf, 1985).
The cereal crops that are grown for their edible fruit are generally called grain, but
botanically referred to as caryopsis.
The cereal seed consists of two major components, the endosperm and embryo or germ.
The endosperm encompass the bulk of the seed and is the energy source of stored food.
An outer wall called the pericarp that develops from the ovary wall encases the
endosperm.
A semipermeable layer under the pericarp, which is called testa, surrounds the embryo
and is derived from the inner ovary wall.
The testa is permeable to water, but not to dissolved salts, and is important for
germination.
The third layer, which is called aleurone, contains thick-walled cells that are free of
starch.
The pericarp, testa, and aleurone layer are collectively called the bran.

Legumes:

The legumes such as chickpea, black gram, mung bean, and pigeon pea, have an
estimated 16,00019,000 species in 750 genera.
Asia ranks first both in area harvested and production.
India accounts for 75 and 96% of the total global production of the chickpea and pigeon
pea, respectively.
The term legume originated from the Latin legumen, which means seed harvested in
pods.
The expression food legumes usually means the immature pods and seeds as well as
mature dry seeds used as food by humans.
Based on Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) practice, the term legume is used for
all leguminous plants.
 Legumes such as French bean, lima bean, or others, that contain a small amount of fat are
termed pulses, and legumes that contain a higher amount of fat, such as soybean and
peanuts, are termed leguminous oilseeds.
Legumes are important sources of food in developing countries.
Soybean, groundnut, dry bean, pea, broad bean, chickpea, and lentil are the common
legumes in the most countries.
In some countries, depending on the climatic condition and food habits, other legumes
are grown.
Legumes are next to cereals in terms of their economic and nutritional importance as
human food sources.
They are cultivated not only for their protein and carbohydrate content, but also because
of the oil content of oilseed legumes such as soybeans and peanuts.
Legumes are reasonably priced sources of protein, generally about double that of most
cereals, and have a high food value; also, they are fair sources of some vitamins and
minerals.
Legumes have almost the same caloric value per unit weight as cereals.
Legumes are a better source of calcium than cereals and contain 100200 mg of calcium
per 100 g.
Legumes, when compared with cereals, are a better source of iron, thiamine, riboflavin,
and nicotinic acid.
The utilization of legumes is highest in India and Latin America owing to religious
restriction and food attitude.
Legumes also contain some antinutritional factors, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin,
phytate, lectins, polyphenols, flatulence-provoking and cyanogenic compounds,
lathyrogens, estrogens, goitrogens, saponins, antivitamins, and allergens.
However heat treatment is known to destroy the antinutrients, such as protease inhibitors
and lectins, although it also destroys the vitamins and amino acids.
Legumes are a good source of dietary fiber; the crude fiber, protein, and lipid components
have a hypocholesterolemic effect.
The following is a brief account of the structure and composition of the major cereal
crops and legumes.