www.wjpps.com Vol 4, Issue 11, 2015. 23 Hasan et al. World Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences TOTAL, INSOLUBLE AND SOLUBLE DIETARY FIBER CONTENTS OF MACROTYLOMA UNIFLORUM (LAM.) VERDC., PHASEOLUS LUNATUS LINN., AND PHASEOLUS VULGARIS LINN., LEGUME FLOURS Salman Ahmed 1 and Muhammad Mohtasheemul Hasan 1* and Zafar Alam Mahmood 2 1 Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, Karachi-75270, Pakistan. 2 Colorcon Limited – UK, Flagship House, Victory Way, Crossways, Dartford, Kent, DA2 6 QD- England. ABSTRACT Current study was conducted to determine the insoluble, soluble and total dietary fiber content of Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc., Phaseolus lunatus Linn., and Phaseolus vulgaris Linn., legume flours by using AOAC enzymatic - gravimetric analysis. The results showed that M. uniflorum, P. lunatus and P. vulgaris legume flours contained 155.91,120.01 and 90.80 mg/g insoluble dietary fiber, respectively. Whereas, soluble dietary fiber was not found in any tested sample. KEYWORDS: Macrotyloma uniflorum, Phaseolus lunatus, Phaseolus vulgaris, Dietary fiber, AOAC enzymatic - gravimetric analysis. INTRODUCTION Dietary fiber (DF), an important component of human nutrition is a complex mixture of non-starch polysaccharides together with cellulose, fatty acids, gums, hemicellulose, lignin, mucilages, pectins, protein and waxes [1] . The American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) define dietary fiber as ―Dietary fiber is the edible parts of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine. Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, lignin, and associated plant substances. Dietary fibers promote beneficial physiological effects including laxation, WORLD JOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES SJIF Impact Factor 5.210 Volume 4, Issue 11, 23-30 Research Article ISSN 2278 – 4357 Article Received on 25 Aug 2015, Revised on 15 Sep 2015, Accepted on 05 Oct 2015 *Correspondence for Author Muhammad Mohtasheemul Hasan Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, Karachi- 75270, Pakistan.