Peas, Natural Resources for a Sustainable Future: A Multifaceted Review of Nutritional, Health, Environmental, and Market Perspectives

Nada Ćujić Nikolić¹Zorana Mutavski^1*Marija Knez²Katarina Šavikin¹Jelena Živković¹Evelien Van Bavegem³Erdi Can Aytar⁴Betül Aydın⁵Petra Jones⁶İbrahim Ender Künili⁷Özge Özmen⁸Aylin Seylam Küşümler⁹Suzana Pavlović¹⁰Derya Ozalp Unal¹¹Selin Gunduz¹¹Claire Copperstone⁶Szymon Wojciech Lara^12,13Meleksen Akin¹⁴Amil Orahovac¹⁵Bálint Balázs¹⁶Jelena Milešević¹⁷Alexandrina Sirbu¹⁸Sonia Negrão¹⁹

• ¹Institute for Medicinal Plants Reserach "Dr. Josif Pančić", Belgrade, Serbia
• ²Center of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medicinal Research, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
• ³Research centre AgroFoodNature, HOGENT University of applied sciences and arts, Ghent, Belgium
• ⁴Usak University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Usak, Türkiye
• ⁵Gazi University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Ankara, Türkiye
• ⁶Department of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Msida, Malta
• ⁷Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, Department of Fishing and Processing Technology, Çanakkale, Türkiye
• ⁸Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University, Adana, Türkiye
• ⁹İstanbul Okan University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Istanbul, Türkiye
• ¹⁰Center of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
• ¹¹Institute of Field Crops Central Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ankara, Türkiye
• ¹²Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom
• ¹³University of West London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism, London, United Kingdom
• ¹⁴Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Igdir University, Igdir, Türkiye
• ¹⁵Faculty of Food Safety, Food Technology and Ecology, University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica, Montenegro
• ¹⁶Environmental Social Science Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
• ¹⁷Center of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia
• ¹⁸FMMAE Râmnicu Vâlcea, Constantin Brâncoveanu University of Pitești, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania
• ¹⁹University College Dublin School of Biology and Environmental Science, Dublin, Ireland

The pea (Pisum sativum L.) is an emerging pillar in plant-based nutrition and sustainable food systems due to its high-quality proteins, diverse bioactive compounds, and agroecological benefits. This review provides an updated synthesis of the nutritional composition, health-promoting properties, and environmental relevance of peas, emphasizing recent scientific findings. Pea seeds typically contain 20–40% protein, 45–55% starch, and 10–15% dietary fiber, alongside essential micronutrients such as vitamin C (40–60 mg/100 g), folate (60–70 µg/100 g), vitamin K (30–45 µg/100 g), iron (1.5–2.0 mg/100 g), and manganese (0.4–0.6 mg/100 g). Their storage proteins, primarily legumin and vicilin, offer high digestibility and amino acid profiles compatible with human requirements, supporting their rapidly growing use in protein isolates and meat-and dairy-alternative products. Peas represent a valuable source of phenolic acids, flavonoids, and saponins, which contribute to notable antioxidant (50–120 µmol Trolox/g) and anti-inflammatory activities demonstrated in preclinical studies. This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article Compared with other legumes, peas exhibit a lower glycemic index (35–45), making them suitable for metabolic health applications. Agronomically, pea cultivation enhances soil fertility through biological nitrogen fixation (up to 150 kg N/ha), supporting reduced fertilizer inputs and improved crop rotation performance, aligning with circular economy and climate-resilience strategies. Despite these advantages, global consumption and breeding innovation remain insufficient to meet the rising demand for alternative proteins. Future opportunities include improving protein extraction technologies, valorizing processing side-streams, and exploring underutilized phytochemicals to strengthen the nutritional and sustainability profile of pea-based food systems.