Legumes as functional foods: the case of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular diseases
RESUMO
A dieta mediterrânica é rica em alimentos funcionais. As leguminosas, um dos alimentos-chave desta dieta, têm visto o seu papel na prevenção de dislipidémias, diabetes e cancro do cólon mencionado por muitos autores. O efeito do consumo de leguminosas na redução da colesterolémia deve-se a diferentes nutrientes e fitoquímicos, tais como: i) proteína; ii) lípidos, particularmente a componente polinsaturada e monoinsaturada; iii) fibra, especialmente a fracção solúvel; iv) saponinas; e v) fitosteróis. O consumo da soja tem sido relacionado com tais efeitos benéficos, mas dados recentes obtidos na Universidade de Évora demonstraram que leguminosas como a ervilha e o tremoço de folhas estreitas também apresentam elevado potencial funcional na regulação do colesterol sanguíneo. O seu consumo levou a reduções de 30% na colesterolémia de animais experimentais, via redução do colesterol das LDL. A utilização destas leguminosas como alimentos funcionais e/ou como fornecedoras de fitoquímicos com potencial preventivo e terapêutico é promissora e poderá constituir uma maisvalia e uma fonte extra de rendimento para os agricultores que se dediquem ao cultivo destas espécies.
ABSTRACT
The Mediterranean diet is rich in functional foods. Legumes are one of the key-foods of this diet and many authors mention their role in the prevention of dyslipidemias, diabetes and colon cancer. The hypocholesterolemic effect of legumes is related to several nutrients and phytochemicals. Among them: i) protein; ii) lipids, especially polyunsaturated and monounsaturated ones; iii) dietary fibre, especially soluble fibre; iv) saponins; and v) phytosterols. Soybean consumption has been related with these benefic effects. However, recent data obtained at the University of Évora have demonstrated that other legumes, such as peas and blue lupin, can also present a high hypocholesterolemic potential. In fact, the consumption of these legumes led to a 30% reduction in the cholesterolemia of experimental animals, due to a LDL-cholesterol reduction. The utilization of these legumes as functional foods or as providers of phytochemicals with a high preventive and therapeutic potential is promising, and may contribute to an increase in the income of farmers growing these crops.
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1 Instituto de Ciências Agrárias Mediterrânicas, Universidade de Évora, 7002-554 Évora, e-mail: jmartins@uevora.pt
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