CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia Jacq.) Maréchal) RN. Adsule 21.1 INTRODUCTION Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Maréchal) is a minor legume crop. It is widely grown in India and the Far East and the National Academy of Sciences has identified moth bean as a possibly more significant food source for the future (NAS, 1978). Moth bean is known by common names such as kidney bean, dew bean, dew gram, moth, mat, mat bean and matki. It is considered to be native of India and Pakistan. Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Maréchal, synonym Phaseolus aconitifolius (Jacq.)) belongs to the family Fabaceae, (Leguminosae subfamily Papilionoideae). Moth bean is a short semi-erect hairy annual bushy herb, with a prostrate creeping habit. The flowers are bright yellow in colour. Pods are linear, brown in colour, with a short curved beak. They contain four to ten seeds which are small, rectangular and have a light brown, yellow— brown, whitish-green or a mottled seed coat (Janoria et al., 1984). The moth bean can be grown on a wide range of soil types. The crop has a very high level of drought resistance and general hardiness. It grows best under high constant temperatures. 21.2 UTILIZATION Moth bean seeds are mostly consumed as cooked whole seeds, split peas (dhal) or sprouts. The green immature seeds can be consumed as such or Legumes and Oilseeds in Nutrition Edited by E. Nwokolo and J. Smartt Published in 1996 by Chapman & Hall. ISBN 0 412 45930 2204 MOTH BEAN Table 21.1 Chemical composition of moth bean seeds Constituent Content (per 100 g dry seed) Protein (g) 243 Carbohydrates (g) 68.0 Lipids (g) 39 Ash (g) 38 Calcium (mg) 133 Phosphorus (mg) 356 Magnesium (mg) 183, Potassium (mg) - Iron (mg) u Thiamine (mg) 0.50 Riboflavin (mg) 0.10 Niacin (mg) 17 ‘Compiled from: Cerning etal. (1975), Gopalan etal. (1982), Borhade et al. (1984) and Salunkhe et al. (1985). Table 21.2 Essential amino acid composition of moth bean proteins Amino acid Moth bean (g/16 gN) FAO reference protein (g/6 g N) Lysine 56 55 Leucine 70 70 Isoleucine 51 40 Valine 33 5.0 Methionine 10 } 35 Cystine 05 Phenylalanine 47 } 60 Tyrosine - : Threonine = 40 ‘Tryptophan 0.70 10 ‘Compiled from: Palmer and Thompson (1975), Gopalan et al. (1982) and FAO/WHO (1973). after cooking. Moth bean seeds have medicinal value and are used in the diets of patients suffering from fevers. In India, moth bean dhal is used for preparation of traditional products like papad and sandge. Moth beans are also grown for fodder. Dried moth bean plants form an excellent hay. Green plants are a good fodder for sheep, the straw is highly palatable and nutritious. It is a fairly good source of digestible protein (Ranjhan, 1980). 21.3 NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION The chemical composition of moth bean seeds (Table 21.1) varies significantly due to genetic and environmental factors (Salunkhe et al.,REFERENCES 205 1985). Seeds contain a significant amount of non-protein nitrogen. Globulin is the major protein fraction in moth bean seeds. Methionine is the first limiting amino acid in seed proteins (Table 21.2). Tryptophan is considered as the second limiting essential amino acid. The vitamin levels in seeds are relatively lower than those in soybean (Gopalan et al., 1982). 21.4 ANTINUTRITIONAL FACTORS, Moth bean seeds contain antinutritional factors such as trypsin inhibitors, polyphenols, phytic acid, saponins, oxalic acid and amylase inhibitor. Trypsin inhibitor from moth bean has been characterized as a glycoprotein with molecular weight of about 9000 daltons (Mehta and Simlot, 1982). Autoclaving of moth bean meal for 10 min (120°C at 15 psi pressure) completely destroys the trypsin inhibitor activity (Kadam et al., 1986). Cooking causes significant reduction in tannins and haemagglutinins of the seed. The proportion of phytate phosphorus is decreased significantly after germination and cooking (Borhade et al., 1984). REFERENCES Borhade, V.P., Kadam, SS. and Salunkhe, D.K. (1984) Changes in phytate phosphorus and minerals during germination and cooking of horse gram and moth bean. Qual. Plant. Plant Foods Hum. Nutr., 34, 151-5. Cerning, J., Saposnik, A. and Guilbot, A. (1975) Carbohydrate composition of horse bean (Vicia faba) of different origins. Cereal Chem., 52, 125-38. FAO/WHO (1973) Energy and Protein Requirements, FAO Nutrition Meeting Rep. Ser. No.52/WHO Technical Rep. Ser. No. 522, Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy. Gopalan, C,, Sastri, B.V.R. and Balasubramanian, S.C. (1982) Nutritive Value of Indian Foods, National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, India. Janoria, MP, Gour, V.K. and Singh, C.B. (1984) Perspectives in Grain Legumes, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, India. Kadam, SS., Ghorpade, V.M., Adsule, RN. and Salunkhe, D.K. (1986) Trypsin inhibitor in moth bean: thermal stability and changes during germination and cooking. Qual. Plant. Plant Foods. Hum. Nutr., 36, 43-6. Mehta, S.L. and Simlot, M.M. (1982) Purification and characterization of trypsin inhibitor from moth bean (Phaseolus aconitifolium). Indian J. Biochem. Biophys., 19, 403-7. NAS (1978) Tropical Food Legumes: Resources for the Future, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC. Palmer, R. and Thompson, R. (1975) A comparison of the protein nutritive value and composition of four cultivars of faba beans (Vicia faba L.) grown and harvested under controlled conditions. J. Sci. Food Agric., 26, 1577-83. Ranjhan, S.K. (1980) Animal Nutrition and Feeding Practices in India, 2nd edn, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, India Salunkhe, D.K’, Kadam, SS. and Chavan, JK. (1985) Postharvest Biotechnology of Food Legumes, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Adzuki bean (Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi et Ohashi) A.C. Uwaegbute 22.1 GENERAL BOTANICAL AND PRODUCTION INFORMATION, The crop is a bushy annual that is variously referred to as adzuki bean, atsuki bean or azuki bean. Several varieties have been cultivated for centuries in Japan, Korea, India and China (Doughty and Walker, 1982). It is believed that the bean originated in the Far East probably in India, China or Japan. Unlike other beans in the genus Vigna, it is cultivated in the cooler regions of the subtropics, although it grows well at high altitudes in tropical regions. It has been successfully introduced into the southern United States, New Zealand, Latin America and some parts of Africa. Japan is probably the world’s greatest producer and consumer of adzuki beans, even importing quantities from China, Korea, Taiwan, Columbia, Thailand and the US. It is Japan’s second most important legume food crop, after soybean. Pods of the adzuki bean are mainly straw coloured, although black and brown pods are also found. The pods are cylindrical, non-shattering and measure 6-12 cm in length and about 5 mm in diameter. Pods contain 5- 12 seeds, each pod being slightly constricted between each seed. Seeds constitute about 50% of the weight of the pods, each seed being flattened and oblong in shape, usually 8x4 mm and truncated at both ends. Seed colour varies from maroon to straw, brown or black, with various combinations of these. Two main types of adzuki bean are recognized. One is early maturing, Legumes and Oilseeds in Nutrition Edited by E. Nwokolo and J. Smartt Published in 1996 by Chapman & Hall. ISBN 0 412 45930 2