Chemical Constituents (Proximate, Minerals, Bioactive Compounds) of Pea [Pisum sativum (L.)] Shells

Background: Peas are preserved by freezing in pea processing industries because of seasonal limitations; there is a vast amount of pea peels as solid waste generated. Now days, the nutritional and techno-functional properties of by-products play an important role in the development of functional and enriched products in the food sector. The current study aim to analyze the nutrients content in pea shells. The result suggests pea shells can be used for value-addition in products and presence of antioxidant in pea shell powder indicates a better health effect if consumed. Methods: In this laboratory investigation during 2017-2018 peas were collected from market a single lot and analyzed for chemical constituents. In this connection, a fibrous coat of pea shells was separated, dried and prepared powder to perform nutritional analysis. Result: The study result indicates that pea shells have high nutritive value, e.g. protein (17.76%), total dietary fiber (21.04%), calcium (803.33 mg/100 g), iron (10.70 mg/100 g), potassium (1078.75 mg/100 g), magnesium (1029.55 mg/100 g) and bioactive compounds. Fresh pea shells have higher antioxidant activity (91%) compared to powder (86%). The total phenols, vitamin C and â-carotene strongly correlated with antioxidant activity. During the storage study, total phenols and antioxidant activity significantly decreased while on 90 days it was increased.