71 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 P. Guleria et al. (eds.), Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 45, Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 45, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53017-4_4 Chapter 4 Antioxidant Profle of Legume Seeds Balwinder Singh, Jatinder Pal Singh, Amarbir Kaur, Amritpal Kaur, and Narpinder Singh Abstract Legume seeds contain antioxidant compounds that prevent or slow down the oxidation process generally by donating electrons to free radicals. These com- pounds are primarily phenolic acids, favonoids, saponins, tocopherols and vitamin C. Antioxidant potential of legume seeds is directly related with their chemical structure as well as the position of functional groups in various compounds. Most reports have suggested that legumes with colored seed coats possess strong antioxi- dant potential owing to the presence of high content of antioxidants. Here we review information on the antioxidant components, impact of process- ing ways on antioxidants as well as their activities in legume seeds. Most research- ers have primarily determined the in vitro antioxidant activity of legumes using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, oxygen radical absor- bance capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant power assays. Processing such as dehusking as well as dehulling, soaking, cooking, germination and fermentation changes the level and nature of antioxidants and their activities in grain legume seeds. The antioxidants present in legumes have been shown to reduce ageing as well as incidence of diseases including cancer, diabetes and cardiac problems. These antioxidants and their activities make them suitable dietary and functional food components for the prevention and management of human diseases. Keywords Legume seeds · Antioxidants · Phenolics · Flavonoids · Tocopherols · Ascorbic acid · Saponins · Processing · Health benefts · Human diseases B. Singh Department of Biotechnology, Khalsa College, Amritsar, Punjab, India J. P. Singh · A. Kaur · A. Kaur (*) · N. Singh Department of Food Science and Technology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India