Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 55: 369–381, 2000. © 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Chemical composition of the underutilized legume Cassia hirsuta L. V. VADIVEL and K. JANARDHANAN Seed Technology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore – 641 046 (T.N.), India Received 6 May 1999; accepted in revised form 27 May 2000 Abstract. Seven accessions of the underutilized legume, Cassia hirsuta L., seeds collected from seven different agroclimatic regions of Tamil Nadu, India, were analyzed for proxim- ate composition, total proteins, protein fractions, mineral profiles and selected antinutritional factors. Crude protein ranged from 15.52 to 20.74%, crude lipid 3.77–7.04%, crude fiber 4.68– 6.92%, ash 3.98–6.42% and carbohydrates 62.45–70.16%. Energy values of the seeds were 1549–1634 kJ/100 g (DM), which are comparable to those of other legumes. Data on seed protein fractions revealed that globulins constituted the bulk of the seed protein as in most legumes. Mineral contents of the seeds showed greater variation. Potassium was the most abundant mineral (1029–1786 mg/100 g), whereas manganese was low (2.1–2.2 mg/100 g). Antinutritional factors such as total free phenolics, tannins, L-DOPA and lectins were ana- lyzed. The results of the study demonstrated that the accessions of C. hirsuta seeds collected from Tamil Nadu, India, could be good sources of some important nutrients for humans. Key words: Cassia hirsuta L., Chemical composition, Legume seeds Introduction Insufficient good quality protein is a serious problem in many developing countries, including India, due to the prohibitive cost of protein from animal sources. Alternative sources of protein, which could alleviate this problem, include proteins from different plants [1]. There is a worldwide interest in identifying alternative sources of economically cheaper proteins, especially from underexploited legumes to alleviate protein-energy-malnutrition among people in the developing countries [2]. Despite the large number of existing grain legumes in India, consumption as a staple food has centered mainly on mung beans, soybeans, urd beans, cowpeas, pigeon peas, chickpeas and peanuts. Recently, however, because of the severity of protein deficiency, together with the drive to exploit the full potentials of homegrown legume seed crops, considerable interest in the utilization of relatively neglected legume sources for human food [3, 4] has been generated.