Therefore, due to its high protein content and digestibility, consumption of mung bean seeds in combination with cereals has been recommended to significantly increase the quality of protein intake as part of a vegetarian diet ( 3). Mubarak ( 13) reported a chemical score of 76% for mung bean amino acids, which was calculated based on the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)/the World Health Organisation (WHO) ( 14) guidelines. Nutritional properties of the mung bean proteinsĪs mentioned above, mung bean seeds are particularly rich in protein, containing about 20.97–31.32% protein content ( 6). Although major past use of mung bean seeds has been as a food resource, more recently mung bean extracts, especially protein and peptide isolates, have gained increasing attention for additional diverse applications. Meanwhile, mung bean proteins and peptides have also been reported to possess angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity, as well as anti-fungal and/or antibacterial activities ( 3).

Moreover, protein content of mung bean seeds is about twofold higher than in the cereal seed maize, with a lower storage protein content (7 to 10%) ( 9) and significantly higher protein content than observed for conventional root crops ( 10).Īlthough high levels of proteins and amino acids in mung beans ( 11) are believed to be the main contributors to its nutritional content, a low methionine content and the presence of trypsin inhibitor ( 12) in mung bean seed are thought to be responsible for its low protein efficiency ratio (PER). Mung bean seeds contain about 20.97–31.32% protein ( 6), compared to 18–22% ( 7) and 20–30% ( 8) for the protein content in soy and kidney beans, respectively. Due to its high nutritional value, ( 5) especially in seeds, mung bean has served as an important food/feed source for humans and animals. The overall nutritional properties of mung beans have been recently reviewed by Dahiya et al. In addition, it has been used for treating numerous other conditions ranging from enhancement of human mental function to alleviation of heat stroke ( 3). As an important plant-derived food resource ( 1), mung bean ( 2) is well known for its detoxification bioactivities. It is a widely cultivated plant in many Asian countries as well as in dry regions of southern Europe and warmer parts of Canada and the United States. One such crop that has exhibited health benefits is mung bean, which is a summer pulse crop with a short growth cycle (70–90 days). As a result, a variety of plant-based functional foods have been introduced into health care programmes ( 1). Many health organisations worldwide have recommended increased intake of plant-based foods to improve the prevention of chronic diseases and to improve overall human health. Ultimately, further research will reveal other nutritional, functional and bioactive properties of mung bean for uses in diverse applications. Consequently, several mung bean hydrolysed peptides have served as effective food additives to prevent proteolysis during storage. Meanwhile, a limited number of reports have revealed other useful bioactivities for proteins and hydrolysed peptides, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activity, anti-fungal activity and trypsin inhibitory activity. However, the sequence for albumin deposited in the UniProt database differs from other sequences reported in the literature.

Two main types of extraction methods have been reported for isolation of proteins and peptides from mung bean flours, permitting sequencing of major proteins present in mung bean, including albumins and globulins (notably 8S globulin). Subsequently, purified mung bean proteins and peptides have facilitated the study of their structural and functional properties. Methionine and cysteine residues have been introduced into the 8S globulin through protein engineering technology. The comparison demonstrated mung bean to be a good protein source, except for deficiencies in sulphur-containing amino acids, methionine and cysteine. As mung bean has long been widely used as a food source, early studies evaluated mung bean nutritional value against the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)/the World Health Organization (WHO) amino acids dietary recommendations. To date, no extensive literature review exists regarding potential uses of mung bean proteins and peptides.

Bean sprouts protein