It is a known fact that Chickpeas, as well as other legumes, contain a large dosage of the amino acid Tryptophan, which is a main building block of serotonin. The latter, is a neurotransmitter, the lack of which modern biochemistry and psychiatry agree is strongly connected with "mood disorders" such as anxiety and depression.

Minor depression nowadays treated with SSRI (Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Medicines such as Prozac, Seroxat, Cipralex etc.) which increases the amount of serotonin in the brain. A Tryptophan rich diet has a similar effect.

The Cicer Arietinum (chickpea) was found to be the richest in Tryptophan specie throughout it's genus of plants.

The researchers say that chickpeas was probably chosen to be cultivated due to its' rich Tryptophan content. Ancient men were better skilled than us in getting their nutritional needs from foods - very much like we can see in animals.

The researchers: Professor Avi Gopher, Dr. Zohar Kerem, Professor Simcha Lev-Yadun, Dr. Shachar Abbo.