Date of Award

8-2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Committee Member

Dr. Dil Thavarajah, Committee Chair

Committee Member

Dr. Susan Duckett

Committee Member

Dr. Elliot Jesch

Committee Member

Dr. William Whiteside

Committee Member

Dr. Pushparajah Thavarajah

Abstract

Lentil is a rich source of proteins, range of prebiotic carbohydrates including sugar alcohols (SA), raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFO), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), and resistant starch (RS), minerals, and vitamins. Research indicated that foods rich in prebiotics reduce obesity via modulating gut microbiota. The objectives of this thesis were 1) to determine the effects of lentil processing (dehulling, splitting, and cooking) on SA, RFO, FOS, and RS in three lentil market classes (red, green, and pardina), and 2) to determine the effects of lentil diet on rat body weight, percent body fat, plasma triglycerides (TGs) concentration, and change of fecal bacteria. Lentil dehulling and splitting decreased SA, and increased RFO and FOS concentrations. Concentration of SA, RFO, and FOS increased with cooling and reduced after reheating. RS concentration increased with cooling and reheating. For the rat study, lentil diet significantly reduced body weight, percent body fat, plasma TGs concentration within 6 weeks compared to the control diets. Abundance of fecal Firmicutes was relatively low, and abundance of Actinobacteria and Bacteriodetes were relatively high in rats fed with lentil diet than the control diets. In conclusion, processing, and cooking can change the levels of prebiotic carbohydrates however, regular consumption of lentil may tend to reduce obesity risk factors. Further human studies are warrant to determine the potential of lentil to reduce obesity risk.

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.