Impact of Sprouting Time of Chickpea on the Physicochemical, Textural, Sensory, and Total Phenolic Characteristics of Falafel Prepared from Sprouted Chickpea Flour

Falafel is considered as an inexpensive and nutritious product that contains various plant substances, vitamins, dietary fibers, and phenolic compounds. The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of sprouting time on the physicochemical characteristics of sprouted chickpea flour. Also, the effects of sprouting time on the physicochemical characteristics and sensory properties of falafel prepared from sprouted chickpea flour were examined. The finding of this research indicated that the sprouting process significantly increased the total phenolic content (from 284.17 to 720.98 μg gallic acid/g dry), antioxidant capacity (from 77.55% to 93.35%), and redness (from 7.65 to 11.39) of chickpea flour (p<0.05). While, it significantly decreased the lightness (from 70.81 to 57.07) and yellowness (from 43.71 to 25.62) of chickpea flour (p<0.05). The total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of falafel prepared from flour of sprouted chickpea for two-days (48 hours) were significantly higher than those prepared from unsprouted chickpeas flour (p<0.05). The volume of falafel samples produced from unsprouted, one-day sprouted, and two-day sprouted chickpea flours was 18.75, 16.60, and 15.40 cm3, respectively. The minimum oil uptake was observed in the sample prepared from chickpeas sprouted for two-days (p<0.05). The sprouting process did not have a significant impact on the firmness, cohesiveness, and chewiness of the falafel (p>0.05). In general, utilizing of one-day (24 hours) sprouted chickpea flour for the production of falafel is recommended due to the best flavor, the highest overall acceptance score, high content of phenolic compounds, high antioxidant capacity, and low oil absorption.