(Pulses Sprout)

Lupin (albus) have the highest protein and dietary fibre content of the pulses. They also have the lowest starch content. Popular with our Mediterranean and European customers, lupins are used to produce fried snack foods. More recently, the lupin (angusfolius) has been used for tempeh production in Indonesia.

It is probably of Egyptian or East Mediterranean origin, and has been cultivated since the days of the ancient Egyptians. It is now very extensively used in Italy and Sicily, for forage, for ploughing-in to enrich the land, and for its seeds.

Although the commercial cropping of lupins is very new, lupin seed has been used as a food since ancient times. According to Gladstones (1977), the Mediterranean white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) has been used as a subsistence crop for three thousand years or more and the pearl lupin (L. mutabilis Sweet.) has been cultivated for thousands of years in the Andean Highlands of South America. Gladstones (1977) also observed that yellow lupin (L. luteus L.), narrow-leafed lupin (L. angustifolius L.) and the white lupin (L. albus L.) are used as green manure crops in traditional agricultural systems in Morocco and Iberia (Gladstones, 1974), which indicates that the cultivation of these species may have ancient origins.

The bruised seeds of White Lupine, after soaking in water, are sometimes used as an external application to ulcers, etc., and internally are said to be anthelmintic, diuretic and emmenagogue.

In 1917 a 'Lupin' banquet was given in Hamburg at a botanical gathering, at which a German Professor, Dr. Thoms, described the multifarious uses to which the Lupin might be put. At a table covered with a tablecloth of Lupin fibre, Lupin soup was served; after the soup came Lupin beefsteak, roasted in Lupin oil and seasoned with Lupin extract, then bread containing 20 per cent of Lupin, Lupin margarine and cheese of Lupin albumen, and finally Lupin liqueur and Lupin coffee. Lupin soap served for washing the hands, while Lupin-fibre paper and envelopes with Lupin adhesive were available for writing.

Lupins, mature seeds, raw

Scientific Name: Lupinus albus

USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 15 (August 2002)