Lower Protein In 2015 Lentils

WINNIPEG - Jan 27/16 - SNS -- Protein content for green and red lentils grown in Canada in 2015 ranged from 21.5% to 28.9%, according to the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC).

The mean protein content was 25.9%, which was lower than the mean for 2014 (27.0%), and lower than the 10-year mean of 27.2%.

Western Canadian Green Lentils

Mean protein content for small-size green lentils (CDC Imvincible, CDC Viceroy, and Eston) was 26.3%, which was lower than the mean for 2014.

Mean protein content for medium-size green lentils (CDC Imigreen, CDC Impress, and CDC Richlea) was 24.1%, which was lower than the mean for 2104.

Protein content for large-size green lentils (CDC Glamis, CDC Grandora, CDC Greenland, CDC Impower, CDC Improve, CDC Plato, CDC Sovereign, and Laird) was 26.0%, lower than the mean for 2014.

Mean starch contents for medium-size and large-size green lentils were similar to the means for 2014, while the mean for small-size green lentils was higher than the mean for 2014.

Mean total dietary fiber contents for small-size and large-size green lentils were similar, but were higher than the mean for medium-size green lentils. Mean ash content for all 3 green lentil sizes was similar to levels in 2014.

Potassium (K) was the most abundant macroelement present in green lentils, followed by phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) and calcium (Ca). Among microelements, iron (Fe) was the highest, followed by zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu).

Mean 100-seed weights for small, medium and large-size green lentils were 3.0 grams, 5.7 grams and 6.7 grams, respectively. Mean 100-seed weights for all 3 sizes of lentils were higher than the means for 2014.

Mean water absorption values were 0.91 grams H2O per gram seeds for small-size lentils, 0.93 grams H2O per gram seeds for medium-size lentils and 0.97 grams H2O per gram seeds for large-size lentils, which were similar to the means for 2014.

Seed size distribution for green lentils was determined by the image analysis technique. The reported results may differ from those obtained by conventional sieving techniques.

For small-size green lentils, approximately 78% of the seeds fell within 4.0 to 5.0 millimetres. For medium-size green lentils, 67% fell within 5.0 to 6.0 millimetres. For large-size green lentils, 74% fell within 6.0 to 7.0 millimetres.

Western Canadian Red Lentils

Mean protein content for red lentils, including the varieties CDC Dazil, CDC Imax, CDC Impact, CDC Impala, CDC Imperial, CDC King Red, CDC Maxim, CDC Redberry and CDC Rouleau, was 26.0%, which was lower than the mean (27.1%) for 2014.

Mean starch content (46.2%) was similar to the mean for 2014. Mean total dietary fiber content was 13.6%. Mean ash content was 2.7%, similar to the mean (2.8%) for 2014.

Mean 100-seed weight was 3.8 grams per 100 seeds and the mean water absorption was 0.88 grams H2O per gram seeds, which were higher than the means for 2014.

The mean dehulling efficiency for red lentils was 81.0%, which was slightly higher than the mean for 2014. Colour of dehulled lentils was measured using a Hunterlab LabScan XE spectrocolorimeter with the CIE L*, a* and b* colour scale. Dehulled splits exhibited more brightness (L*) and more yellowness (b*) as compared to dehulled whole seeds.

Approximately 68% of red lentils fell within the 4.0 to 5.0 millimetre range, which was slightly lower than for 2014.

Only active subscribers can read all of this article.

If you are a subscriber, please log into the website.

If you are not a subscriber, click here to subscribe to this edition of the STAT website and to learn more about becoming a subscriber.