ABSTRACT
GLOBALLY, cereals and legumes are important sources of total calories,carbohydrates, proteins, and several other nutrients in the diets of many populations. Cereals and legumes are also the major source of dietary phytate intake. In this chapter, the term phytate is used to collectively describe phytic acid and its salts (unless otherwise noted). Because phytates are chemically reactive under a variety of conditions, understanding how phytates interact with other food components is critical in optimizing the nutritional quality of cereals and legumes, especially with respect to bioavailability of minerals and proteins. Phytate removal may be desirable because it potentially forms complexes with minerals and dietary proteins and decreases their bioavailability. Because phytates are heat stable, they are not easily removed by cooking, autoclaving, roasting, or any of the conventional heat processing methods. Solubility of phytates in aqueous solvents can, however, be used to reduce/eliminate food phytates when desired. Acid hydrolysis of phytates as well as ability of endogenous and/or added enzymes to effect phytate hydrolysis are additional means to reduce/eliminate food phytates. The choice of a method for phytate reduction is largely dependent on the type of food and the final product form in which that food is consumed.