Nutrients, Antinutrients, Phenolic Composition, and Antioxidant Activity of Common Bean Cultivars and their Potential for Food Applications

Abstract

Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the most commonly consumed legume in the world, given its high vegetable protein content, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant properties. It also represents one of the most sustainable, low-carbon and sources of food available at present to man. This study aims to identify the nutrients, antinutrients, phenolic composition, and antioxidant profile of 10 common bean cultivars (Arikara yellow, butter, cranberry, red kidney, navy, pinto, black, brown eyed, pink eyed, and tarrestre) from two harvest years, thereby assessing the potential of each cultivar for specific applications in the food industry. Navy and pink eyed beans showed higher potential for enrichment of foodstuffs and gluten-free products due to their higher protein and amino acid contents. Additionally, red kidney, cranberry and Arikara yellow beans had the highest content of phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties, which can act as functional ingredients in food products, thus bringing health benefits. Our study highlights the potential of using specific bean cultivars in the development of nutrient-enriched food and as functional ingredients in diets designed for disease prevention and treatment.

Keywords: Phaseolus vulgaris L.; amino acids; antioxidants; phytochemicals; protein.

Figure 1

Climatic conditions (Tmin, Tmax, and rainfall) in 2013 and 2014 in Sintra, Portugal.

Figure 2

Protein content of 10 common bean cultivars from 2013 and 2014, grouped according to their morphological characteristics. Cultivars: Arikara yellow (A1, A2, A3, A4), butter bean (B1, B2, B3), cranberry (C1, C2), red kidney (K1, K2, K3), navy (N1, N2), pinto (P1, P2, P3), black (Bk), brown eyed (BE), pink eyed (PE), and tarrestre (M). The absence of common letters (a–l) indicates significant differences at p < 0.05; Tukey’s multiple range tests were performed for each year separately. * indicates that it does not differ significantly at p < 0.05 between the two harvesting years.

Figure 3

Amino acids of 10 common bean cultivars, grouped according to their morphological characteristics: (A) essential amino acids and (B) nonessential amino acids for 2013 (for each sample on the left) and 2014 (for each sample on the right) harvest years. Cultivars: Arikara yellow (A1, A2, A3, A4), butter bean (B1, B2, B3), cranberry (C1, C2), red kidney (K1, K2, K3), navy (N1, N2), pinto (P1, P2, P3), black (Bk), brown eyed (BE), pink eyed (PE), and tarrestre (M). * indicates that it does not differ significantly at p < 0.05 between two harvesting years.

Figure 4

Antinutritional composition of 10 common bean cultivars, grouped according to their morphological characteristics: (A) tannins and (B) phytic acid content from 2013 and 2014. Cultivars: Arikara yellow (A1, A2, A3, A4), butter bean (B1, B2, B3), cranberry (C1, C2), red kidney (K1, K2, K3), navy (N1, N2), pinto (P1, P2, P3), black (Bk), brown eyed (BE), pink eyed (PE), and tarrestre (M). The absence of common letters (a–l) indicates significant differences at p < 0.05; Tukey’s multiple range tests were performed for each year separately. * indicates that it does not differ significantly at p < 0.05, between two harvesting years.

Figure 5

Plot of tannins vs. protein content of 10 common bean cultivars, grouped according to their morphological characteristics. Cultivars: Arikara yellow (A1, A2, A3, A4), butter bean (B1, B2, B3), cranberry (C1, C2), red kidney (K1, K2, K3), navy (N1, N2), pinto (P1, P2, P3), black (Bk), brown eyed (BE), pink eyed (PE), and tarrestre (M). (A) Triplicates of each sample from 2013, (B) triplicates of each sample from 2014, (C) average of each sample in both years, the samples being divided according to their harvest years.

Figure 6

Plot of the scores of phytochemical composition and in vitro antioxidant capacity obtained for the first two factors extracted from the partial least squares (PLS) regressions. (A) Triplicates of each sample from 2013, (B) triplicates of each sample from 2014, and (C) mean of each sample in both years. Cultivars: Arikara yellow (A1, A2, A3, A4), butter bean (B1, B2, B3), cranberry (C1, C2), red kidney (K1, K2, K3), navy (N1, N2), pinto (P1, P2, P3), black (Bk), brown eyed (BE), pink eyed (PE), and tarrestre (M).