Total polyphenol content, carotenoid, tocopherol and fatty acid composition of commonly consumed Canadian pulses and their contribution to antioxidant activity

To quantitate bioactive compounds in cooked cultivars of commercially available Canadian pulses, 14 peas, lentils, beans, and chickpeas were analyzed for total polyphenol content (TPC), antioxidant activity (DPPH, FRAP and ORAC) and fatty acid, carotenoid and tocopherol content. On a dry weight (DW) basis, cooked pulses contained (mean ± SD) 1.65 ± 0.10-8.39 ± 0.03% lipids; 22.5 ± 0.6-170.5 ± 2.0 μg/g total tocopherols, primarily γ-tocopherols (80-96%); 4.21 ± 0.40-20.26 ± 2.43 μg/g total carotenoids with lutein being the primary carotenoid (78-87%) then zeaxanthin (6-17%). TPC ranged from 1.16 ± 0.07 to 7.45 ± 0.69 mg gallic acid equivalents/g DW. TPC was significantly correlated with DPPH (r = 0.688, p = 0.006), FRAP (r = 0.881, p < 0.001) and ORAC (r = 0.859, p < 0.001). Antioxidant activity was related to tocopherol (r = 0.665, p = 0.009) but not carotenoid content (r = 0.541, p = 0.132). These results support the continued use of Canadian pulses for functional foods with health benefits.