Chemical composition of kabuli and desi chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars grown in Xinjiang, China

Chickpeas are a very important legume crop and have abundant protein, carbohydrate, lipid, fiber, isoflavone, and mineral contents. The chemical compositions of the four chickpea species (Muying‐1, Keying‐1, Desi‐1, Desi‐2) from Xinjiang, China, were analyzed, and 46 different flavonoids in Muying‐1 were detected. The moisture content ranged from 7.64 ± 0.01 to 7.89 ± 0.02 g/100 g, the content of starch in the kabuli chickpeas was greater than that in the desi chickpeas, the total ash content ranged from 2.59 ± 0.05 to 2.69 ± 0.03 g/100 g and the vitamin B(1) content of the chickpeas ranged from 0.31 to 0.36 mg/100 g. The lipid content ranged from 6.35 to 9.35 g/100 g and the major fatty acids of chickpeas were linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acids. Both kabuli and desi chickpeas have a high content of unsaturated fatty acids (USFAs), Muying‐1 and Desi‐1 contained the highest level of linoleic acid, and Keying‐1 had the highest oleic acid content. The protein level ranged from 19.79 ± 2.89 to 23.38 ± 0.30 g/100 g, and the main amino acids were aspartic acid, glutamic acid, and arginine acid. The four chickpea species had significant amounts of essential amino acids (EAAs). Forty‐six varieties of flavonoids in Muying‐1 were determined by ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UPLC‐QqQ‐MS) analysis, and there were higher levels of conjugate flavonoids (55.95%) than free flavonoids (44.05%). Isoflavones were the most abundant flavonoids in Muying‐1, and among the isoflavones, daidzin had the highest content, followed by biochanin A and genistin. Muying‐1 was rich in daidzin, biochanin A, genistin, troxerutin, isorhamnetin, astilbin, L‐epicatechin, astragalin, acacetin, hyperoside, and myricitrin. Information provided in the study will be helpful to further understand the chemical composition of chickpeas and be beneficial to the development of chickpeas.