Widening the Perspectives for Legume Consumption: The Case of Bioactive Non-nutrients

Abstract

Legume grains have provided essential nutrients in human diets for centuries, being excellent sources of proteins, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and fibers. They also contain several non-nutrients that historically have been connotated as toxic but that in recent years have been shown to have interesting bioactive properties. The discussion on the role of bioactive non-nutrients is becoming more important due to increasing science-based evidence on their potential antioxidant, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and anticarcinogenic properties. At a time when legume-based products consumption is being strongly promoted by national governments and health authorities, there is a need to clearly define the recommended levels of such non-nutrients in human diets. However, there is insufficient data determining the ideal amount of non-nutrients in legume grains, which will exert the most positive health benefits. This is aligned with insufficient studies that clearly demonstrate if the positive health effects are due to the presence of specific non-nutrients or a result of a dietary balance. In fact, rather than looking directly at the individual food components, most nutritional epidemiology studies relate disease risk with the food and dietary patterns. The purpose of this perspective paper is to explore different types of non-nutrients present in legume grains, discuss the current evidence on their health benefits, and provide awareness for the need for more studies to define a recommended amount of each compound to identify the best approaches, either to enhance or reduce their levels.

Nutritional Compositions, Phenolic Contents, and Antioxidant Potentials of Ten Original Lineage Beans in Thailand

“…Data in 2011–2013 indicated that legumes were consumed the most in Latin America and the Caribbean (about 33–34 g per capita per day), followed by sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, while those in Southeast Asia, including Thailand, consumed approximately 10 g of legumes per capita per day [ 8 ]. Beans have been recognized as food ingredients rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients [ 9 ]. For example, the common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) variety ‘American black’ cultivated in Mexico possesses protein, total dietary fiber, and lipids at 20.4, 23.4, and 3.6 g/100 g of dry sample, respectively.…”

Comparative Metabolomic Profiling of Horse Gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum (Lam.) Verdc.) Genotypes for Horse Gram Yellow Mosaic Virus Resistance

“…Heterocyclic compounds with diphenyl sulfone moiety exhibited a significant improvement in the antiviral and other defensive properties of HR [ 46 ]. The antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of papaveroline and 2,2-Dimethyl-5-[2-(2-trimethylsilyl ethoxy methoxy)-propyl]-[ 1 , 3 ]dioxolane-4-carboxaldehyde were documented by [ 47 , 48 ], respectively.…”

“…Legumes are an excellent rotational crop [ 1 ], and their cultivation enhances soil carbon levels, reduces the need for fossil fuel use in farming [ 2 ], reduces soil erosion, and improves soil fertility through symbiotic relationships [ 1 ]. The demand-driven changes in agriculture cultivation practices, such as intensification systems and unbalanced animal-food-based protein consumption, warrant the promotion of legume proteins [ 3 ]. Legumes adequately satisfy human protein requirements [ 4 ] and provide a balanced diet, as they possess a good quantity of fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Genetic and Metabolite Variability among Commercial Varieties and Advanced Lines of Vicia faba L.

“…Oxalates, such as oxalic acid, are referred to as antinutritional factors causing hypocalcemia, mineral bioavailability disorders and stone disorders [ 79 , 80 , 81 ]. In our study, the advanced line KK14 had the highest concentration of oxalic acid, as well as other antinutritional factors such as total phenols and tannins [ 82 ]; thus, it is inappropriate for further use in breeding programs.…”