**5. Nutraceutical aspects of cowpea**

Vegetable-based food systems are more sustainable than meat-based ones because it requires less energy, land, and water resources. The proteins from pulses is used for the balanced growth with have high nutrients to prevent human diseases and maintain good health [2].

The cowpea plants have highest medical constituents such as high fibers, important vitamins like vitamin B complex, folic acids and vitamin K for to promote good health. Cowpea has more potassium content, it lowers cholesterol, low fat, have high iron and antioxidants and do weight loss (**Figure 8**). The phenolics and carotenoids components and anthocyanins pigments are involved and maintain good anabolic and catabolic processes [3, 4].

The seed content of cowpea is used for decrease cholesterol formation so to decrease the body weight [5], cowpea seeds also increase blood cells in hematopoiesis to improve cardiac circulation and do efficient food digestion and also reduce digestive problems such as constipation, etc. [6]. The cow plants have lack of glycemic content of index is to delay the digestion of starch, so the cowpea seeds have high dietary fiber involved in insulin metabolism to decrease hunger for approximately in twelve hours [7].

Cowpea regular consumption to cause prevent or reduce many chronic communicable and non communicable diseases [8], the cow pea seeds have high nutrients to remove many gastric syndromes [6]. Cowpea beans also eradicate many heart diseases,

**Figure 8.** V. unguiculata *(L.) Walp have approximately ten medical applications.*

decrease cholesterol diseases and improve weight loss [9]. Cowpea seeds or leaves have many medical properties, including reduce carcinoma, improve insulin, reduce lipid diseases, decrease pathogenic infections and remove certain allergies [10, 11].

The high content of carbohydrates, proteins as well as essential amino acids of cowpea seeds used for many health or therapeutic purposes. Cowpea proteins are highly valuable for both consumption and some culinary and some cowpea seed proteins also used for designing the texture of foods [12]. High regular intake of cowpea seeds may reduce blood plasma cholesterol like low density lipoprotein and also reduce non communicable diseases like many cancers and atherosclerosis or myogenic heart diseases [13].
