Evaluation of Compositional, Rheological, Thermal, and Functional Changes in Chickpea Flour and Starch during the Germination Process

In this work, the effect of germination time (4 days) on the proximal composition of flours and the functional, thermal, rheological, vibrational, and structural properties of chickpea starch was evaluated, with the aim of determining its potential for use in the food industry. It was found that, in flours during the first 2 days of germination, the percentages of fiber (12.694 ± 1.155-5.253 ± 0.194%), ash (2.584 ± 0.096-1.022 ± 0.064%), and protein (16.187 ± 0.432-10.598 ± 0.517%) decrease rapidly, which could be used as substrates in the process; however, in starch, the amylose content increases as a result of the debranching of amylopectin, going from 12.034 ± 0.181% on day 0 to 19.634 ± 1.11% on day 4 of germination. The X-ray diffraction patterns present a typical behavior of type C starches, with the presence of nanocrystals with hexagonal and orthorhombic crystalline structures; the SEM images of chickpea starch show no changes in its integrity during germination. The most significant changes during the germination process of chickpea starch were observed in the pasting properties, where the peak viscosity during heating (4389 ± 23.8-8966 ± 37.12 cP) and the final viscosity after cooling (1968 ± 45.2-8854 ± 56.98 cP) increased substantially, especially on days 3-4 of germination. Regarding thermal properties, the gelatinization temperature decreased significantly (71.3 ± 1.58-49.3 ± 1.07 °C). All of the above allows us to conclude that germinated chickpea starch could be used as a thickening agent for the formation of stable gels in shorter cooking processes, improving its hydration capacity, retaining moisture better, and increasing the viscosity and texture of the food products where it is used.