Lupin flour gives pizza power
Dr Rhonda Foley is examining the seed storage protein genes in lupins. The aim of this work is to identify important proteins that play a role in nutrition, including proteins involved in satiety -- the sensation of 'feeling full' -- and lowering blood glucose which may play a role in combating diabetes. (2:36)
Transcript
Glen Paul: Hello and welcome to CSIROVod, I'm Glen Paul.
I'm in Perth, in Western Australia, at CSIRO's Floreat Laboratories where I'm going to meet a scientist who is researching the health benefits of lupins, not just doing that in the laboratory but also in the kitchen.
Dr Rhonda Foley is a plant biologist and amateur chef who's researching lupins, a relative of soybean, and a valuable source of protein and dietary fibre.
Rhonda Foley: We've always known that lupin is a healthy food, in that it has high fibre, it has high protein content and very low starch so it would be an ideal diet for those who require gluten free diet. What's really interesting is how healthy lupins are. For example, they're great against heart disease as well as great for those who have diabetes and also they have satiety properties. That is that if you eat lupin you become more full and subsequently eat less at the next meal. For example, if you have lupin bread for breakfast you'll eat less calories for lunch.
Glen Paul: The CSIRO team have identified 16 genes which may provide a key to why lupin is so healthy. The job now is to identify which of these genes are involved in the health benefits of lupins.
Rhonda Foley: That's the science behind lupin, now let's see how we can use lupins in the kitchen. Today I'm going to make a tasty Mediterranean pizza which includes 50 per cent lupin flour and 50 per cent wholemeal flour.
Glen Paul: The process from here of mixing, cutting and dicing took about 30 minutes.
Rhonda Foley: This is the final product, our lupin Mediterranean pizza. While it may look small it's actually enough to feed two adults, partly because of the satiety properties of lupin, that is that if you eat lupin you feel full afterwards. Now let's put this in the oven. In half an hour we'll have a healthy, yummy pizza.
Glen Paul: There certainly is a lot going for lupins. If you'd like to find out more about the research and have a look at the recipe for that pizza just visit our website at www.csiro.au.
