Mung bean (Vigna radiata L.), being rich in protein, starch, and bioactive compounds, has become more recognized as a nutritious and healthy food crop. Mining germplasm resources with higher contents of nutritional factors will further improve their efficient use. In the present study, assessing the crude protein, total starch, total polyphenol and flavonoid, and vitexin/isovitexin contents occurred in 400 accessions of mung bean core collection. The results showed that overall, the crude protein content ranged from 21.26% to 31.14% with an average of 25.91%, whereas the total starch content ranged from 34.24% to 59.82% with an average of 40.19%. The total polyphenol content (2.07–5.89 mg/g) was higher than the total flavonoid content (1.13–2.76 mg/g), observing a positive correlation between these two factors. A significant positive correlation also emerged between the contents of vitexin (0.18–2.28 mg/g) and isovitexin (0.15–1.97 mg/g). Similarly, the results also specified that the wild germplasm had higher levels of nutritional components, except for starch. This study will lay a foundation for enhancing the utilization of mung bean resources in developing new varieties with high contents of bioactive compounds.
Mung bean (V. radiata L.), crude protein, total starch, total polyphenol and flavonoid, vitexin and isovitexin
The study showed higher variations for vitexin/isovitexin and flavonoid contents in mung bean (V. radiata L.) genetic resources. The contents of crude protein, total flavonoids, total polyphenols, vitexin, and isovitexin were notable at higher rates in the wild germplasm than breeding cultivars, with no obvious relationships among the contents of nutritional components, except for vitexin and isovitexin.