The flavonoid profile of pigeonpea, Cajanus cajan: a review.

BACKGROUND

Pigeonpea is ranked as the sixth largest grain legume produced by volume and as such is a major global food crop for livestock and human consumption. We show that pigeonpea contains a number of flavonoids and report their distribution and concentration within different parts of the plant.

FINDINGS

There are a total of 27 flavonoids reported in the literature representing seven flavonoid classes. We found no published evidence of flavanols (catechins/flavan-3-ols) or aurones reported from pigeonpea, nor any study of the flavonoids from pigeonpea flowers.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite over 40 years of research in to various aspects of pigeonpea we identified research gaps related to the phytochemical properties of pigeonpea. We explain how addressing these gaps could help to realise the full potential of pigeonpea in agricultural production.