One of the fundamental tasks of modern agriculture is to ensure
sufficient food supplies. Cereals and legumes and their derivatives are an
important nutritive component both in developed and in developing countries.
They are also an optimal source of energy, carbohydrates, protein, fibre, and
macronutrients, especially magnesium and zinc. Legumes and cereals are
grains. Grains can be defined as small, hard, dry seeds which are consumed by
humans or animals. Grains can be categorized into 5 groups. They are cereal
grains, pseudo-cereals, pulses, whole grains and oil seeds. Out of these five
categories, cereals and pulses are known as the main two staple foods due to
the great demand for their nutrient content and vast consumption worldwide. The
main difference between
cereals and pulses is that the cereals are
the grasses
which belong to the monocot family Poaceae.
They are gathered for their starch-rich grains. When compared to other
types of crops including pulses, cereals are the leading energy (Calorie) suppliers and
are cultivated
in greater quantities worldwide. Pulses
are also known as annual leguminous crops yielding from pods, used as food for
both humans and other animals in the world. When compared to cereals, pulses are rich
in proteins and essential amino acids. However, in ordinary
and practical situations, the terms cereals and pulses are frequently used
interchangeably. This article explores the difference between cereals and
pulses in depth.
CEREALS ?
Cereal
is an actual grass, primarily cultivated for the edible starch components of
its grain. Botanically, this grain is a type of fruit known as a caryopsis, and it contains three parts
such as the endosperm, germ, and bran. It belongs to the monocot
family Poaceae and is grown in larger quantities and provides more food energy
and carbohydrate for the entire world than any other type of crop. In addition
to that, they are considered as staple crops. Cereals are a rich source of
macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, oils, and protein) and micronutrients
(vitamins, minerals) as well as bioactive phytochemicals (polyphenols,
flavonoids, anthocyanin, carotenoids, etc.). During the refining and polishing
process, the nutrients accumulated in the bran and germ are removed, and the
remaining endosperm contains mostly carbohydrate. In some developing countries,
cereal grain in the form of rice, wheat, millet, or maize constitutes a
majority of daily nutrition. In developed countries, cereal intake is moderate
and varied but still is considerable.
PULSES ?
Pulses
are grain legumes that are annual crop yielding from one
to twelve seeds of different morphology, and color within a pod. Pulses are
used as food not only for humans but also other animals. Similar to many
leguminous crops, pulses play a significant role in crop rotation due to their
capability to fix nitrogen. Depending on the variety, a pulse may be known as common bean, dry bean, kidney bean, haricot bean, pinto bean, navy bean,
etc. Pulses are
cultivated agriculturally, primarily for their human food grain seed, for
livestock forage, silage production, and as soil-enhancing green manure. Many
pulses contain symbiotic bacteria known as Rhizobia within root nodules of
plant root systems.
These
bacteria have the distinct capability of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere.
This structure helps the root nodules to act as sources of nitrogen for pulses
and make them relatively rich in plant proteins. Therefore, pulses are among
the greatest sources of plant protein and also serve as fertilizer for the
soil.
TABLE 1:
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CEREAL AND PULSES
|
Cereal
|
Pulses
|
|
|
Definition
|
||
|
Cereal is a grain used for food or breakfast food prepared from roasted
grain.
|
Pulses is a grain legume
|
|
Scientific
Classification
|
||
|
Cereal
belongs to Family Poaceae
|
Pulses belong to
family Leguminaseas / Fabaceae
|
|
|
Production
|
||
|
Cereals are cultivated in larger quantities than pulses. Rice, wheat, and
maize account for 89% of all grain production in the world in 2012 while
other varieties such as barley, sorghum, millet, oats, triticale, rye, and
buckwheat represent the rest of 13% production
|
Pulses are cultivated in lesser quantities than cereals. India is the
world’s largest producer and the largest consumer of pulses.
|
|
|
Staple Diet
|
||
|
Most of the developing countries consume cereals such
as rice, wheat, and millet as their staple diets.
|
Pulses are incorporated into the staple diet as a meal, curry or consumed as
a snack.
|
|
|
Morphology
|
||
|
Cereals contain a hard and non-edible husk and grains are attached to a stalk
|
Unlike the cereals, pulse grains are found within a pod, and
they do not contain a hard and non-edible husk
|
|
Carbohydrate
and Energy Content
|
||
|
Cereals contain more carbohydrate (65-78%) and energy compared to pulses and
is considered the largest energy food source in the world
|
Pulses contain less carbohydrate (55-65%), and energy compared to cereals
|
|
Starch
Characteristics
|
||
|
The digestibility of starches in cereals,
both in terms of absolute amount digested and the rate at which it is
hydrolyzed, is higher than that of pulse starches
|
The digestibility of starches in pulses,
both in terms of absolute amount digested and the rate at which it is
hydrolyzed, is lower than that of cereal starches. Therefore, high
consumption of pulse-based foods leads to gassiness and other physiological
discomforts in the stomach.
|
|
|
Amylose Content
|
||
|
The amylose content of cereal starches
is 20-25%, which is lower than pulses.
|
The amylose content of legume pulses starches
is -30-40%, which is lower than cereals.
|
|
Protein
Content
|
||
|
Cereals contain less protein content (5-15%) compared to pulses.
|
Pulses contain more protein content (20-25%) compared to cereals.
|
|
|
Amino Acid Lysine Content
|
||
|
Some cereals are deficient in the essential amino
acid lysine.
|
Pulses are rich in amino acid lysine compare to cereals.
|
|
|
Amino Acid Methionine Content
|
||
|
Cereals are rich in amino acid methionine compared to pulses.
|
Many pulses are
deficient in the essential amino acid methionine.
|
|
|
Nitrogen Fixing Ability
|
||
|
Cereals do not have the ability to fix nitrogen.
|
Pulses have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere.
|
|
Most common Cereals
Common examples of cereals include rice, barley, wheat, maize, corn, millet, barley, sorghum, millet, oats,
triticale, rye and buckwheat.
Most common Pulses
Common
examples of pulses include beans, peas, cowpea, dry beans like pinto beans, kidney beans, navy
beans, dry peas, lentils, lupins, and peanuts, Mung bean, golden gram, green
gram.
