Beyond hummus - An up-to-date scientific review of chickpeas, health, and environmental impact

Claire Copperstone^1*Petra Jones¹Betül Aydin²Jelena Zivkovic³Erdi Can AYTAR⁴Hatice KALKAN YILDIRIM⁵Nada Ćujić Nikolic³İbrahim Ender Künili⁶Ebru YILMAZ⁷Goksel Tirpanci Sivri⁸Aylin Seylam Küşümler⁹Derya Özalp Ünal¹⁰Amra Bratovcic¹¹Özge Özmen¹²Selin Gunduz¹³Katarina Šavikin³Alexandrina Sirbu¹⁴Suzana Rimac Brnčić¹⁵Filippos Bantis¹⁶Teodora Ivanova¹⁷Mihail Chervenkov^17,18Amil Orahovac¹⁹Bálint Balázs²⁰Mevlude Nur Dilgen²¹Sonia Negrao²²Marija Knez²³

• ¹Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
• ²Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye
• ³Institute for Medicinal Plants Research “Dr. Josif Pančić”, Belgrade, Serbia
• ⁴Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Usak University, Usak, Türkiye
• ⁵Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, Izmir, Türkiye
• ⁶Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, Çanakkale, Türkiye
• ⁷Bozdoğan Vocational School, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Türkiye
• ⁸Food Engineering Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Tekirdağ, Türkiye
• ⁹Istanbul Okan University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics, Istanbul, Türkiye
• ¹⁰Instıtute of Field Crops Central Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ankara, Türkiye
• ¹¹University of Tuzla, Faculty of Technology, Department of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• ¹²Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University, Adana, Türkiye
• ¹³Field Crops Central Research Institute, Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ankara, Türkiye
• ¹⁴FMMAE, Constantin Brancoveanu University of Pitesti, Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
• ¹⁵Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
• ¹⁶School of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Agriculture, University of Western Macedonia, Florina, Greece
• ¹⁷Department of Plant and Fungal Diversity and Resources, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
• ¹⁸Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Forestry, Sofia, Bulgaria
• ¹⁹Faculty of Food Technology, Food Safety and Ecology, University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica, Montenegro
• ²⁰Environmental Social Science Research Group, Budapest, Hungary
• ²¹Department of Biology, Gazi University, Ankara, Türkiye
• ²²School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
• ²³Centre of Research Excellence in Nutrition and Metabolism, Group for Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Medical Research, National Institute of Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.), form part of the pulses group and have been cultivated and consumed for many years, providing beneficial nutritional properties, whilst also being considered as sustainable foods. The global market for chickpeas is expected to continue growing because of increased consumer acceptability and growing needs for foods that support nutritional health and demand for alternative plant-based protein sources. Furthermore, these crops contribute to nitrogen fixation in soils and are therefore utilized for crop rotation systems, important in today's need to cope with sustainability demands. Food security is a major concern, with increasing pressure to supply affordable, accessible and nutritious foods to the world's growing population. On the other hand, challenges for chickpea consumption exist and may be in part explained by various sociocultural and economic factors, such as lack of knowledge and long preparation times, as well as the current global nutrition transition marked by increasing fast food availability and preferences. Crops like chickpeas therefore have an important role in addressing many Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) including SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). Chickpeas' nutritional profile includes protein quality, fiber, micronutrients and bioactive compound content. Antinutrients are also present, reducing nutrient bioavailability and provoking digestive health issues with some allergenic potential also observed. Mitigation techniques range from pre-cooking methods such as soaking and dehulling, as well as various cooking processes and fermentation. The latter process has shown to improve probiotic activity and reduce phytate levels, in particular. The aim of this review is therefore to re-examine the nutritional profile for the two main chickpea types, the 'kabuli' and 'desi' types, the limitations of the antinutritional factors present, and explore techniques to mitigate these compounds. Socio-cultural and economic limitations faced by farmers will be addressed, a concern since it could further exacerbate poverty and food insecurity. Successful strategies that have improved yields will also be presented. The review will therefore present the integration of nutritional health with environmental considerations so as to deliver an updated picture for the chickpea crop and provide actionable recommendations to address the growing global population's future needs.