SEEDS COMPOSITION AND THEIR NUTRIENTS QUALITY OF SOME PEA (PISUM SATIVUM L.) AND LENTIL (LENS CULINARIS MEDIK.) CULTIVARS

A comparative study was carried out on the proximate composition, mineral, amino acid and fatty acid contents of two legume [five cultivars of peas [(Pisum sativum L. cv. Nicoleta, cv. Vedea, cv. Specter, cv. Windham and cv. Biathlon)] and four cultivars of lentils (Lens culinaris Medik. cv. Eston, cv. Georgy, cv. Berglinse, and cv. Black] grown in Romania. The protein values of the legumes ranged from 233 and 260 g kg DM-1 for the raw pea and from 256 and 289 g kg DM-1 for the raw lentils. The fat, fibre and carbohydrates (NFE) contents were low and the average values were different depending on cultivars in both legumes. The seeds of studied lentils cultivars were found to be good sources of essential minerals such as copper, iron and manganese, but total phosphorous, calcium and zinc were comparable with peas. The amino acid profile in pea and lentil seeds was also typical of legumes, with a high level in lysine (6.2% of the protein) and a low level in sulphur-containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine: 2%). Lentils' lipids were rich in alpha-linolenic acid, which comprised 11.95-14.62% of total fatty acids methyl esters. The alpha-linolenic acid was also higher in the pea cv. Vedea. It is deduced that pea and lentil seeds have better potential to be used in protein enriched poultry feed formulations.