Compositional characterization of three traditional Spanish chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties

Abstract

This study presents an integrated compositional characterisation of three traditional Spanish chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars -Pedrosillano (PE), Castellano (CA) and Blanco Lechoso (BL)- together with an evaluation of a selected line (Garabito, GA) derived from Pedrosillano and an assessment of soil-type effects on PE seeds. Marked differences among cultivars were primarily associated with morphometric traits. BL showed the largest seeds, with a 100-seed weight of 58.9 g, compared with 47.0 g for CA and 29.8 g for PE, and the highest lipid (6.73 g/100 g fw) and total sugar contents (5.29 g/100 g fw). Despite its smaller size, PE exhibited high protein (20.3 g/100 g fw), fibre (23.7 g/100 g fw) and carbohydrate contents. All varieties exhibited high levels of essential amino acids. In addition, glutamate and aspartate were the predominant amino acids in the overall profile. Mineral composition differed moderately, with potassium ranging from 10.07 to 11.80 g/kg and calcium from 1.11 to 1.38 g/kg. During cooking, BL absorbed the most water (138%) and produced the softest texture (N), whereas CA exhibited the greatest hardness. The GA selected line showed compositional characteristics closely comparable to those of its parental PE ecotype, indicating that selection preserved the original compositional profile. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed in PE seeds grown under contrasting soil types.