Evaluation of Phenolic Profile and Antioxidant Properties of Pardina Lentil As Affected by Industrial Dehydration

This study presents the effects of soaking, cooking, and industrial dehydration treatments on phenolic profile and also on antioxidant properties in Pardina lentil. HPLC-PAC and HPLC-MS (ESI) analysis identified a total of 35 phenolic compounds in raw and processed lentil flours, corresponding to catechins and procyanidins (69% of the total of identified phenolic compounds), flavonols (17%), flavones, and flavanones (5%), and hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic compounds (5 and 4%, respectively). During the industrial process, catechins and procyanidins, flavonols, flavones, and flavanones decreased, while hydroxybenzoic compounds exhibited an important increase. In addition, raw lentils showed high values of the antioxidant activity (66.97 mu mol Trolox/g); although the thermal processing promotes decreased, the levels of antioxidant activity were still relevant. Thus, the significant occurrence of bioactive phenolic compounds along with the interesting antioxidant capacity of dehydrated lentil flours make them useful for daily inclusion in the human diet as ready-to-use for special meals to specific populations.