ABSTRACT
Medik.) is an old world grain legume food crop that was domesticated in the Near East arc along with other pulses such as pea, chickpea, and faba bean in early Neolithic times (Helbaek, 1959; Ladizinsky, 1979). Lentil co-evolved with wheat and barley, which became staple crops for Neolithic agriculture more than 7,000 years ago. Lentil is adapted to semi-arid environments, where it is usually grown in rotations that include cereals; however, regions of production encompass all continents except Antarctica. As a preferred food legume, lentil has numerous common names including
adas
(Arabic),
mercimek
(Turkey),
messer
(Ethiopia),
masser
(India), and
heramame
(Japanese), to name a few. Lentil has a protein concentration estimated at
24% and ranging from 22 to 26%; however, the protein is lacking in sulfur-containing amino acids but has relatively large amounts of lysine (Newman et al., 1988). For comprehensive reviews of nutritional quality and utilization of lentil, see Huisman et al. (1994) and Hulse (1994). Lentil is relatively fast cooking and is a nutritious food that is highly popular, especially in semi-arid regions of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia.
