Antioxidant Properties of Steamed Paste (Moin-Moin) Made from Sprouted Pigeon Pea Flour as Influenced by Heat Treatment

Abstract

Background and Objective: Phytochemicals act as antioxidant in the body thereby playing a role in the prevention of some degenerative diseases like type II diabetes. Pigeon pea contains some polyphenols, such as flavonoids which plays an important role in the prevention of diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease because of their actions. Effect of heat on phenol, flavonoid, antioxidant activities and sensory qualities of moin-moin produced from sprouted and unsprouted pigeon pea flour were evaluated in this study. Materials and Methods: Moin-moin was produced from sprouted and unsprouted pigeon pea flour. The flours (sprouted and unsprouted pigeon pea) and the moin-moin were evaluated for phenol, flavonoid, 1, 1, Diphenyl-2-Picrylhydrazy, reducing power and ferric reducing antioxidant power to assess the effect of heat on them. Sensory properties of the moin-moin were measured. Results: The evaluation showed that phenol, flavonoid and their antioxidant activities in sprouted pigeon pea flour were significantly (p<0.05) higher than that of unsprouted pigeon pea flour. Moin-moin made from sprouted pigeon pea flour exhibited higher phenol, flavonoid and antioxidant activities than moin-moin that was produced from unsprouted pigeon pea flour. The moin-moin exhibited acceptable sensory qualities. Steaming affected the phenolic contents because the antioxidant and its activities were lower in the steamed paste than that in the flour samples. However, moin-moin made from sprouted pigeon pea still exhibited considerable high quantities of phenol, flavonoid and antioxidant activity that were higher than the conventional plant product used in producing moin-moin. Conclusion: Based on the experiment, moin-moin produced from sprouted pigeon pea flour is a potential source of antioxidants of plant origin which could lead to the reduction of certain degenerative ailment like diabetes and cancer.