Nutritional composition, enzyme activities and bioactive compounds of mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) germinated under dark and light conditions

Abstract

Changes in nutritional composition and functional properties of mung bean seeds germinated under the dark and light conditions for 96 h were investigated in this study. The germination caused the increased dry matter loss in mung bean seeds and the loss was higher in the seeds germinated under the dark condition rather than that under the light condition. However, protein, ash, total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid (TFC) contents, and enzyme activities of mung bean seeds significantly increased with prolonged germination time. The antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory capacities of extracts from mung bean seeds were also improved with germination, whereas the total essential amino acids (EAA) of the mung bean seeds was not changed. The mung bean seeds germinated under the dark condition contained higher TPC, TFC, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory capacities as compared to those germinated under the light condition. At 96 h of germination under the dark condition, the germinated mung bean seeds contained 31.9% protein, in which the amount of EAA was 40.92%. The TPC of the 96-h germinated mung bean seed extract was 7.19 mg ferulic acid equivalent (FAE)/g hulled seeds, which possessed 86.4% DPPH scavenging, and 72.7% and 72.9% inhibition against α-amylase and amyloglucosidase, respectively.