Table 3.

Aim and main results of the most recent studies on the (bio)-technological approaches applied to pulses.

Air Classification
Reference	Type of Pulses	Aim	Outcome
Rempel et al. [87]	pea	To assess the effects of milling and air classification on chemical composition.	Production of fine fractions having 90% of particles diameters smaller than 22 µm and high in protein (85–87%), fat (74–95%), and minerals (66–76%).
Simons et al. [88]	pinto bean	To produce high-starch fractions and assess their potential applications.	Production of protein (yield: 20%, size: ≤15 µm) and starch (yield: 80%, size: 15–45 µm) fractions. The latter characterized by high viscosity and high resistant starch that might be used in food formulations to lower the glycemic index and/or increase viscosity of foods.
Pelgrom et al. [89]	pea, lupine	To assess the effects of processing on the effectiveness of air classification.	Hydration, de-hulling or defatting prior to air classification were found effective in increasing protein yield and content.
Coda et al. [90]	faba bean	To enhance flour functionality by using fractions obtained by air classification.	Production of a starch-rich fraction with a low content in antinutritional factors.
Pelgrom et al. [91]	pea, bean, chickpea, lentil	To optimize the separation of starch granules from cell wall fibers and protein bodies.	Optimization of separation when the particle size distribution of flour overlaps with that of isolated starch granules.
Gómez et al. [75]	pea	To assess starch fraction suitability in cake making.	Using starch concentrate fraction did not affect negatively on cake quality but was found unacceptable for consumers. On the other hand, using protein fraction negatively affects cake quality.
Fermentation
Reference	Type of legumes	Aim	Outcome
Coda et al. [92]	faba bean	To investigate the effects of pulse sourdough on bread quality.	Using pulse sourdough positively affects the amino acid profile, protein digestibility, protein biological value, and glycemic index of bread.
Xu et al. [93]	faba bean	To assess the potential of different lactic acid bacteria in the production of exopolysaccharides and their impact on product texture.	Ln. pseudomesenteroides DSM 20193 showed the highest potential in the production of exopolysaccharides and texture modification in the related dough.
Rizzello et al. [94]	faba bean	To assess the effects of fermentation on of the pyrimidine glycoside vicine and convicine.	48 h of incubation with L. plantarum led to the degradation of the pyrimidine glycosides and aglycone derivatives.
Curiel et al. [95]	nineteen traditional Italian legumes	To assess the effects of sourdough fermentation on the functional and nutritional characteristics of pulses.	Fermentation promoted an increase in free amino acids, soluble fibers, and total phenols. Raffinose and condensed tannins decreased, while the level of gamma-aminobutyric acid, antioxidant and phytase activities markedly increased.
Rizzello et al. [96]	nineteen traditional Italian legumes	To investigate the effects of fermentation on the concentration of lunasin-like polypeptides.	Sourdough fermentation increased the amount of lunasin-like polypeptides, due to proteolysis of the native proteins. A marked inhibitory effect on the proliferation of Caco-2 cells was also observed.
Coda et al. [90]	faba bean	To assess the effects of air classification and lactic acid bacteria fermentation on the decrease in anti-nutritional factors and starch and protein digestibility of pulses.	The combination of air classification and fermentation was effective in decreasing/removing the anti-nutritional factors as well as improving the free amino acid content and protein digestibility.
Rizzello et al. [97]	chickpea, lentil, bean	To evaluate the effects of fermentation on nutritional, sensory and functional characteristics of pulse-enriched bread.	L. plantarum was the dominant lactic acid bacteria species in the wheat–legume sourdough. Using sourdough maximized the nutritional (by increasing the essential free amino acids, phenols and dietary fiber, and decreasing the hydrolysis index), sensory and functional properties of pulse-enriched bread.
Germination (or Sprouting)
Reference	Type of legumes	Aim	Outcome
Ouazib et al. [98]	chickpea	To investigate the impact of germination on rheological and bread-making performance of pulses.	Changes in starch upon germination significantly affected the rheological properties of the related flour. Germination negatively affected the overall acceptability of bread.
Ertaş [99]	lupin	To study the effects of sprouting on the physical and chemical properties of pulses and their bread-making performance	Sprouting of pulses enhanced the technological (volume, specific volume, symmetry and texture) and nutritional properties of bread.
Mondor et al. [100]	pea	To assess the effect of malted peas (10%) on bread quality.	The malting process did not affect the mixing property of the dough.
Marengo et al. [101]	chickpea	To assess the impact of sprouting on macromolecular and micronutrient profiles and rheological properties of chickpeas and chickpea flour–enriched dough (wheat/chickpea ratio = 100:20)	Sprouting enhanced the reticulating ability of proteins. Starch changes upon sprouting did not interfere with dough mixing properties and improved its leavening properties. Thus, sprouting of pulses might provide a good opportunity for developing new products with increased nutritional value.
Montemurro et al. [102]	chickpea	To investigate the effects of germination and sourdough fermentation on grain quality	Combining fermentation with sprouting further enhanced the nutritional and functional characteristics of flours, through the release of peptides and free amino acids, phenolic compounds and soluble fibers, and the decrease in several antinutritional factors. Bread enriched in fermented sprouted flour showed peculiar sensory profiles, and high protein digestibility and low starch availability, compared to the control sample.