Legume flatulency

The predominant polysaccharide in dehulled field pea flour is starch (49.7-59.8%) and the major soluble sugars are a-galactosides (4.78%) and sucrose (1.85-2.2%) (8,23,24). Verbascose is the major a-galactoside present in field pea flour (23,24). The a-galactosides are the main contributors to the flatulence caused by ingestion of legume flours. 

Members of the raffinose family of oligosaccharides are present in appreciable concentrations in the nutritionally important food-legumes these are known to cause flatulence in man and other animals. Blair and coworkers144" quantitated the production of flatus in man,... 

Stachyose is present in the seeds of most food legumes, and has been recognized as a compound responsible for flatulence (see Section II,2,f). 

Improve the digestibility, e.g. of some legumes by reduction of ohgosaccharides causing flatulence (Camacho et al., 1991). 

Gas production (flatulence) in the stomach or intestines produced by legumes originates from the sugar stachyose (cf. 16.2.5). When this tetrasac-charide is cleaved by a-D-galactosidase, flatulency from this source is eliminated. 

After legume consumption, oligosaccharides might cause flatulency, a symptom of gas accumulation in the stomach or intestines. It is a result of the growth of anaerobic microorganisms in the intestines, which hydrolyze the... 

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