Biological Properties and Phytonutrient Profile of Beans: Vigna angularis, Vigna radiata, and Glycine max

Abstract

The consumption of specific plant foods in distinct diets reduces chronic illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and even cancer. This offers an interesting platform to study the various phytonutrients claimed by numerous studies for providing different physiological and pharmacological effects in the human body. This study has focused on the analysis of phytonutrients in three leguminous plants, namely Vigna angularis (VA), Vigna radiata (VR), and Glycine max (GM). Chemical constituents evaluated include polyphenols, flavonoids, condensed tannins, and polysaccharides, while DPPH free radical scavenging and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were utilized for in vitro antioxidant activities. The findings showed that the beans contain a professed number of condensed tannins and polyphenols, while they also contain flavonoids and polysaccharides. The 95% ethanol extract of VA showed the highest level of extracted total polyphenols and total condensed tannin content than other extracts. VA 95% EtOH extract exhibited a phytochemical profile consistent with the obtained biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cell viability. Our study has successfully determined the phytonutrient profiles of the bean extracts and their associated biological activities.