A. Sotelo et al., COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF THE CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF WILD AND CULTIVATED BEANS (PHASEOLUS-VULGARIS), Plant foods for human nutrition, 47(2), 1995, pp. 93-100
Five wild Phaseolus vulgaris beans were compared with five cultivated
Phaseolus vulgaris beans in proximate composition, total (true) protei
n, amino acid composition, and toxic and antinutritional factors. The
wild beans contained more protein (25.5% vs. 21.7%), ash (5.15 vs. 4.1
5%), crude fiber (7.08% vs. 5.04%) compared to cultivated beans while
the former contained less fat (0.56 vs. 0.89%) and carbohydrates (61.6
4 vs. 68.05%). Sulfur amino acids were found to be limiting in both gr
oups of bean as expected; however, the cultivated beans had a higher c
ontent of the limiting amino acids. Therefore, the cultivated beans sh
owed a better amino acid profile than the wild beans. Toxic factors we
re not found in either type of bean; the determinations included sapon
ins, alkaloids, and cyanogenic glycosides. The antinutritional factors
investigated were hemagglutinins (lectins) and trypsin inhibitors. Th
e wild beans presented a higher content of trypsin inhibitors (28 TUI
per mg) and lectins (9.6) than the cultivated beans did (21 TUI per mg
and 7 respectively). From the chemical point of view, domestication s
eems to be positive; however, the better protein nutritive quality of
the cultivated beans should be further confirmed by biological assays.