Resumen

GARCIA O, Omar E; INFANTE R, Ramón B  y  RIVERA, Carlos J. Legumes, an important source of dietary fiber: A vision in Venezuela. INHRR [online]. 2009, vol.40, n.1, pp.57-63. ISSN 0798-0477.

The dietary fiber or alimentary fiber, it is a generic term which covers a wide variety of chemical substances, with different properties and physiological effects. Chemically, the dietary fiber is a substance belonging to the family of the carbohydrates. In the last 40 years it has had increasing interest in the field of health and human nutrition. In general, we find the alimentary fiber in the food products from vegetable. A good example of it, are the legume seeds. The legume seeds across the history, have been a food resource of great importance for human nutrition. On the one hand, a cheap source of proteins and on the other one, an additional supply of fiber to the diet. The present article, was focused to review and to collect the most realised works for the determination and quantification of alimentary fiber in of the mainly Venezuelan legumes seeds.

Palabras clave : Alimentary fiber; legume seeds; black beans; dietary fiber.