| Summary: | Worldwide, beans are well-known nutritionally as a good source of carbohydrates, protein, iron, zinc and dietary fiber, while also being low in fat. These properties make beans an excellent choice for plant-based protein and dietary fiber. Beans also provide food security for many communities. Environmentally, beans are known for nitrogen fixation and performing well in inter-cropped systems.
The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) is opening a new frontier in our understanding of what is in our food by applying multi-omics techniques to dive more deeply into food composition and make new discoveries about what is in our food. Using high resolution gas/liquid chromatography and mass-spectrometry allows us to identify and quantify small essential minerals and bioactive compounds. We are still learning about this universe of atomic legos (small molecule building blocks) present in our food and whether they are beneficial or harmful.
A scientific collaboration between the PTFI, the PTFI Center of Excellence, iOmicas at University of Javeriana Colombia and the Future Seeds genebank at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT used multi-omics techniques to provide insights into 46 bean accessions from three widely consumed species, Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean), P. lunatus (lima bean), and P. acutifolius (tepary bean). Using specialized laboratory methods to detect and selectively identify bioactive compounds (known as secondary metabolites), our research found 6,717 in those varieties.
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