Showing Food Lentils
| General Information | |||||||||||
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| Name | Lentils | ||||||||||
| Scientific Name | Lens culinaris | ||||||||||
| Description | Lentils, Lens culinaris, are edible legumes native to the Indian subcontinent. They are widely consumed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Lentils are a versatile ingredient used in various culinary preparations, including curries, stews, and soups (PMID: 25300847). They have a distinctive, earthy flavor and a mild, nutty aroma. The color of lentils ranges from green to brown, red, and yellow, depending on the variety. Lentils are rich in nutrients, providing several health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels and regulating blood sugar levels. They are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and minerals like iron and potassium. The most notable chemical in lentils is protein, which accounts for about 25% of their composition. Lentils have been used in traditional medicine for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties (PMID: 36815655). In some parts of the world, lentils are used as a natural dye and in the production of biodegradable plastics. A peculiar aspect of lentil preparation is that they can be cooked in a variety of ways, including soaking, germinating, frying, baking, or boiling, with cooking times ranging from 10 to 40 minutes, depending on the variety. | ||||||||||
| Primary ID | FOOD00098 | ||||||||||
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| Classification | |||||||||||
| Group | Pulses | ||||||||||
| Sub-Group | Lentils | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Superkingdom | Eukaryota | ||||||||||
| Kingdom | Viridiplantae | ||||||||||
| Phylum | Streptophyta | ||||||||||
| Class | Magnoliopsida | ||||||||||
| Order | Fabales | ||||||||||
| Family | Fabaceae | ||||||||||
| Genus | Lens | ||||||||||
| Species | culinaris | ||||||||||
| Variety | Not Available | ||||||||||
| External Links | |||||||||||
| ITIS ID | 503364 | ||||||||||
| Wikipedia ID | Lentils | ||||||||||
| Composition | |||||||||||
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| References | |||||||||||
| Content Reference | — Duke, James. 'Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. United States Department of Agriculture.' Agricultural Research Service, Accessed April 27 (2004). — Saxholt, E., et al. 'Danish food composition databank, revision 7.' Department of Nutrition, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark (2008). — U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2008. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 21. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page. — Rothwell JA, Pérez-Jiménez J, Neveu V, Medina-Ramon A, M'Hiri N, Garcia Lobato P, Manach C, Knox K, Eisner R, Wishart D, Scalbert A. (2013) Phenol-Explorer 3.0: a major update of the Phenol-Explorer database to incorporate data on the effects of food processing on polyphenol content. Database, 10.1093/database/bat070. — Shinbo, Y., et al. 'KNApSAcK: a comprehensive species-metabolite relationship database.' Plant Metabolomics. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2006. 165-181. | ||||||||||