Abstract
Cereals and pulses comprise the largest proportion in a typical Indian diet plate. This research mainly focuses on determining the nutritional composition, bioactive compound characterization, and antioxidant activities of seven selected cereals and pulses. The total carbohydrate content was high in unripe banana (67.65/100 g) and arrowroot (63.76/100 g). Finger millet (44.55 μmol %), chickpea (53.33 μmol %), and green gram (17.40 μmol %) showed high oleic, linoleic, and linolenic acid contents, respectively. The ascorbic acid content was the highest in chickpea and horse gram at 86.83 and 83.76 mg/100 g, respectively. The major phenolics and flavonoids quantified and confirmed using HPLC and UHPLC-HRMS/MS were gallic, protocatechuic, vanillic, para-coumaric, ferulic, chlorogenic, sinapic, and trans-cinnamic acids, rutin, and quercetin. The sample extracts showed dose-dependent antioxidant activity to combat the reactive oxygen species. Hence, these serve as an excellent source for the development of functional food formulations for lowering the risk of various diseases.