underutilized legume research in India

1. PRESENTED BY,
VANISREE PADMANABHAN
2019534005

2. • In order to meet the global food demands, focus should be on promoting the cultivation and
utilization of crops which have been neglected and underexploited but have the potential to
enhance food and nutrition security especially in the developing countries.
• The significant roles that legumes play in the food cultures around the world as veritable sources
of quality protein, natural medicine, animal fodder, natural fertilizers, and environmental
restoration products, alongside the well-established soil enrichment property of symbiosis with
nitrogen-fixing bacteria should be exploited.
• Here it will be discussed about some selected minor legumes with huge potentials to boost protein
security in period of hunger and malnutrition.

3. • Neglected and Underutilized Species are identified by certain criteria:
LOCAL IMPORTANCE-consumption and
production
ADAPTATION- Agroecology
REPRESENTATION-landraces

4. RARE REPRESENTATION - ex situ
collections
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE- Cultivation
and utilization
MAINSTREAM MARKET - Neglect

5. • Legumes belong to Family Fabaceae of the Angiospermae and are considered rich in
high-quality proteins.
• It is divided into grain legumes and pasture/forage legumes.
• The grain legumes are grown mainly as pulses providing food for humans
• While pasture legumes are cultivated to feed domestic animals.
• Based on plant utility and economy, legumes are categorized as
Major species
Minor species

6. • Major legumes are popular and common with well-established domestication and
cultivation, agronomic practices, utilization, and conservation.
• Examples include
Soybean (Glycine max)
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)
Groundnut (Arachis hypogea)
Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Pea (Pisum sativum )
Chick pea (Cicer arietinum )

7. JACK BEAN
Canavalia ensiformis
WINGED BEAN
Psophocarpus tetragonalobus
SWORD BEAN
Canavalia gladiata
VELVET BEAN
Mucuna pruriens
LIMA BEAN
Phaseolus lunatus
BAMBARA
GROUNDNUT BEAN
Vigna subterranea
MINOR
LEGUMES

8. MINOR LEGUMES

9. • Psophocarpus tetragonolobus popularly known as winged bean.
• Its somatic chromosome number is 2n = 18 and is one of the old legumes.
• It is a multipurpose legume plant with all parts being edible.
• It is grown in many parts of the humid tropics, including Central and South America, the
Caribbean, Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
• Rich in vitamins, minerals, protein, and secondary metabolites such as phenolic and
flavonoids.
• Highly resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses
• The seeds of winged bean exhibit tolerance to storage pests.
• Protein content of tubers 20% and 10-15% in leaves and flowers.

10. High seed yield with
low shelling
percentage
Early flowering
Synchronization of
pod maturity
Senescence at the end
of growing season
High protein and oil
content
High yield with green
pods free from
parchment layers
High nutritive value

11. Selection for low pod
yield
Huge vegetative growth
High yield and quality tubers
with high protein
Low fibre content and
acceptable flavour

12. BREEDING CONSTRAINTS
• Indeterminate growth
habit
• High cost of labor
• Anti-Nutritional Factor
• Pod shattering
• Late maturing
• Low yield
• Scandent habit
Breeding the photo insensitive variety
is another priority to reduce the long
gestation period required for flowering
and fruiting.
At Kyushu University (Japan) some
photo insensitive varieties like KUS-8,
KUS-15 found promising.
Transcriptome sequencing for
gene discovery and marker
development.
BREEDING ACHIVEMENTS
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

13. ORIGIN AND ITS PROGENITOR:
• The wild African progenitor, P. grandifloras based on its morphological resemblance and
shared susceptibility to the fungus Synchytrium psophocarpi.
GROWTH HABIT AND PLANT ARCHITECTURE:
• Dwarf or determinate winged bean cultivars obtained by Mutagenesis – But no clear
evidence is provided.
• TILLING – possible approach to obtain determinate growth phenotypes ,but it requires
sequence information of target genes.
The genomic basis of a determinate shoot apex meristems has been uncovered in other
legumes.

14. NUTRIENT AND ANITI-NUTRIENT COMPOSITION:
Crude protein content in winged bean is higher than cow pea and pigeon pea.
Winged bean oil:
• Has high thermal conductivity and oxidative features.
• Superior to soy bean oil as used as frying medium.
• Rich in Saturated fatty acid thereby making it less preferred.
It is suggested to be used in food formulation system by blending with
wheat or cow pea flour and used as composite flours.

15. MATURE SEED CONSUMPTION:
1)Hard seed coat that adheres tightly to the cotyledons could hampered cookability and
digestion of winged bean mature seeds.
2)Anti-nutritional factors
• Identification of genes involved in tannin content as well as other anti-nutritional factors.
• Cooking methods like Autoclave or Boiling has also been investigated.
Development of Easy-to-cook varieties of winged bean without
compromising on its nutritional content – Breeding objective

16. Effect of day length and temperature on reproductive development
• Winged bean is a short day species and exhibits photothermal sensitivity.
• Flower bud development is inhibited during long day condition.
• Studies reveal that both temperature and day length control the onset of flowering and
tuberization.
Nodulation and N₂ fixation Activity
• Nodulation and N fixing activity could be used in aiming development of improved
winged bean varieties for Mixed agricultural system.
• It was reported that lighter seed coat colour was associated with increased nodules per
plant.

18. • Sword bean (Canavalia gladiata ) is species in the genus Canavalia of the Fabaceae
family
• It is a vigorous perennial climber plant usually cultivated as an annual.
• Reports indicated that sword bean originated from the Asian continent and is now known
in the tropics as an introduced species.
• The red sword bean is one of the edible beans of China reportedly rich in antioxidant
polyphenols with great medicinal uses.
• The seed coat of the bean is rich in gallic acid and its derivatives, mainly gallotannins, a
common trait found in legume polyphenols.
• The chemical composition of seeds of sword bean has been reported and compares quite
well with soybean .
• The sword bean is relatively resistant to attack from pests and diseases.

19. • ANTI NUTRITIONAL FACTORS: Canavanine
• HARD SEED COAT:
• Overnight soaking and boiling in excess water followed by
decanting gave the most pronounced reduction in canavanine
content( 50%)
• Roasting and Autoclaving were less effective in reducing the
canavanine content.
• Soaked seed after mechanical Scarification in distilled water
germinated faster than non-soaked seeds.
• The rate of germination was 98% in scarified and 68% in non-
scarified soaked seeds.

20. NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
• Red sword bean-Edible bean cultivated in china.
• The polyphenols Gallic acid and Gallotannins- Responsible for the red colour.
ANTIMICROBIALACTIVITY OF SWORD BEAN:
• Ethanol Extracts of Sword bean showed strong activity against food poisoning Bacteria
(Vibro parahemolyticus) after 9 hours of inoculation.
(Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety)
RED SWORD BEAN COAT
Excellent Natural source of Gallotannins and their extracts can be utilized as
Natural Antioxidant and Antibacterial Agents in food Industry.

21. SWORD BEAN- SHADE SENSITIVE
• Investigation taken to study the response of sword bean under different light conditions.
Low light condition makes the crop Unfit for Consumption.
Low light
(shade condition)
Plant height
Chlorophyll content
Low light
(shade condition)
Dry matter production
Specific Leaf weight
Yield

22. • Sword bean flowers are visited by bees and 20% or more cross pollination occurs
( Kooi,1993)
• Bagged flowers set pods and seeds indicating perfect self compatibility.
(peter,1998)
• Crossing proves difficult as the flowers are very sensitive and therefore bud pollination is
recommended.
• In south east Asia , sword bean cultivars have been developed with reduced toxicity.
• Hybrids of Canavalia gladiata with both Canavalia ensiformis and Canavalia africana
have occurred from natural crosses.

23. • To increase the use of Canavalia green fruits and young seeds as vegetable,
IMPROVED CULTIVARS
EITHER BY INTRODUCTION
OR BY BREEDING.
CULTIVARS WITH APPEALING
TEXTURE AND REDUCED ANTI –
NUTRITIONAL FACTORS.

24. • Canavalia ensiformis is the most economically important species in the genus Canavalia,
with enormous potentials to serve as food for both humans and livestock .
• It is in large-scale cultivation in Congo and Angola .
• It is rich in protein and thrives well in poor and acidic soils.
• Jack bean is mainly grown for its nutritious pods, seeds, and as fodder.
• It is a forage crop with high green manure capacity to enrich the soils and also to control
soil erosion.
• It possesses deep root system which enables the plant to penetrate deeply into the soil.
• Raw jack bean contains toxic compounds such as tannin, phytate, saponins,
canavanine, concanavalin A (hemagglutinin), and trypsin inhibitors.

25. NUTRITIONAL FACTORS:
BUT THE ANTI-
NUTRITIONAL
COMPOUNDS WOULD KILL
ME..

26. ANTI-NUTRITIONAL FACTORS:
• These compounds restricts its utilization as human food.
DETOXIFICATION:
THERMO-STABLE FACTORS
• canavanine
• concanavalin
• canavalin
• canatoxin
THERMO-LABILE FACTORS
• protease inhibitors
• lectins
• phytic acid
AUTOCLAVING
BOILING AND
SOAKING
EXTRUSION FERMENTATION
CHEMICAL
TREATMENTS

27. ALLELOPATHIC EFFECT OF JACK BEAN:
• Magalhães and Franco (1962) observed an inhibitory effect on the budding of sedge
tubers (Cyprus rotundus)
• Anaya (1999) found that C. ensiformis leaves, when added to the soil, inhibited more than
50% of the incidence of root nematodes in tomato plants.
C. ensiformis has a strong inhibitory influence, and extracts obtained
with solvents with higher dielectric constants were the most efficient
at inhibiting the germination

28. • In western countries it is used as a cover crop and the roasted seeds are ground to prepare
coffee-like drink (Bresson et al., 1987).
• In Nigeria C. ensiformis, is grown as ornamental plant, planted near houses and allowed
to trail on walls and trees, believed to repel snakes (Abiodun and Lashanda, 2012).
FUTURE PROSPECTS
Development of improved cultivars with reduced anti-nutritional factors.
Development of therapeutic drugs- CONCANAVALIN
Exploitation of Allelopathic effects in various crops.

29. • Lima bean – Phaseolus lunates ,rich in protein.
• Lima bean is grown for its edible seeds and as leafy vegetable in the Caribbean, Peru,
Mexico, and Asian regions .
• It is resistant to viral and rust diseases and withstand insect pests, drought, and abiotic
stress.
• The species also tolerates different levels of aluminum and manganese toxicity.

30. CYANOGENESIS OF WILD LIMA: DIRECT DEFENCE NATURE
(Daniel J. Ballhorn, Stefanie Kautz, Martin Heil, 2009)
• A prominent experimental model plant for studies of inducible indirect plant defences
against herbivores.
• These indirect (carnivore attracting) defences include the release of herbivore-induced
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and secretion of extrafloral nectar (EFN).
• VOCs of lima bean play a role in defence-associated signaling between plants.
• A characteristic direct chemical defence of lima bean is cyanogenesis, i.e. the release of
toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from preformed cyanide-containing compounds in
response to cell damage.

31. • Plants do not rely on a single defence mechanism, but rather express multiple defences
comprising the constitutive and induced synthesis of many chemical compounds.
• The combination of different traits often leads to the evolution of multiple defence
syndromes.
CROP IMPORVEMNET STUDIES :
Lima beans types widely grown are:
 Baby lima beans
 Ford hook lima beans
 Hybrid pole lima beans

33. • The genus Mucuna, belonging to the Fabaceae family.
• Cowitch and cowhage are the common English names of Mucuna types with abundant,
long stinging hairs on the pod.
• It is cultivated in Asia, America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, where its pods are used as
a vegetable for human consumption, and its young leaves are used as animal fodder.
• Toxic compounds are L-dopa and hallucinogenic tryptamines, and anti-nutritional factors
such as phenols and tannins (Awang et al., 1997).

34. PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF VELEVT BEAN
ANTI-VENOM PLANT SEEDS WATER PROTEINS
Anti-microbial PLANT LEAVES METHANOL
TANNINS
ALKALOIDS
L-DOPA
NEUROPROTECTIVE
PLANT SEEDS,
WHOLE PLANT
ETHANOL/WATER
N-PROPANOL
L-DOPA
AMINO ACIDS
ALKALOIDS
ISOQUINOLINES
ANTI-DIABETIC PLANT SEEDS ETHANOL/WATER(1:1)
CYCLITOLS
OLIGOSACCHARIDES
ANTI-OXIDANT
PLANT SEEDS,
LEAVES,WHOLE
PLANT
METHANOL
PHENOLS
TANNINS

35. BIOACTIVE COMPONDS IN VELVET BEAN
(Medicinal properties, potential antioxidant activity)
Total free phenols
Tannins
phytic acid
L-Dopa
Indigenous methods Results
SOAKING IN TAMARIND SOLUTION AND
COOKING
Significant reduction of all bio-active
compounds
SOAKING IN ALKALINE SOLUTION AND
COOKING
Significant and aggressive reduction of
all bio-active compounds
SPROUTING AND OIL-FRYING Reduction of total phenols and tannins
OPEN-PAN ROASTING Slightly increases the phenol content
and minimal loss of L-Dopa

36. INCORPORATION OF VELVET BEAN: alternative protein source in poultry feed.
• Soaking in 0.2% sodium bicarbonate solution + autoclaving treatment- to reduce Antinutritional
compounds.
• Replacement of soybean meal protein up to 40% level, which corresponds to the inclusion
of velvet bean meal up to 15.7% and 11% in the starter and finisher phase poultry feeds, respectively,
exhibited better growth performance of broiler birds without any adverse effects.
PARKINSON DISEASE:
• The main phenolic compound of Mucuna seeds is L-dopa , a precursor of the neurotransmitter
dopamine(approximately 5%) (Vadivel and Pukalenthi, 2008).
• Mucuna is widely studied because L-dopa is a substance used as a first-line treatment for Parkinson's disease.

37. ANTI-PARKINSONS ACTIVITY OF SILVER INDONESIAN
VELVET Beans-seed extract nanoparticles
Utilization of plant extracts that have anti-Parkinson activity-velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens L.).
Changing the particle size of the extract into nanoscale particle is expected to increase its anti-
Parkinson activity.
1.The research was conducted to synthesize silver-velvet bean (Mucuna pruriens L.) seed extract
nanoparticles (AgMPn) and to evaluate its antiparkinsonian activity through the catalepsy test in
mice.
2.Catalepsy test demonstrated that AgMPn at the doses of 5, 15, and 20 mg/kg body weight lowered
the catalepsy symptoms in mice significantly, with the best dose was 5 mg/kg body weight.

38. • African Yam Bean (Sphenostylis stenocarpa) is one of seven species of the genus
Sphenostylis
• It occurs in dry forests and in open or forested savannas in tropical and Southern Africa.
• The plant is perennial; the stems often have a reddish pigmentation and are glabrous and
woody near their bases
• Roots develop tubers that are rich in starch and serve as organs of perennation when the
aerial parts die during the dry season (National Academy of Sciences, 1979; Kul et al.,
2001)
• The plants bear purple to magenta colored flowers on pseudo racemes.
• The pods each contain 20 to 30 seeds that mature about 30 days after fertilization (Kul et
al., 2001).
• The seeds are brown, white, speckled or marbled in color.

39. ORIGIN
• The occurrence of wild races can also be traced to East and Southern African regions.
• A study of chloroplast DNA and linguistic data (Potter and Doyle, 1992) confirmed that
African Yam Bean has West and Central African regions as its areas of domestication,
where it is grown for seed and tuberous roots.
POTENTIAL OF AYB- A SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD
• The concentration of total amino acids ranged from 311 to 603 mg /g, which is
comparable to or exceeds that of soybean (444 mg/g).
• These concentrations were found to meet the 1973 World Health Organization (WHO)
and 1985 FAO/WHO requirements for adults. Oshodi et al. (1995)

40. • The concentrations of linoleic and linolenic acids, the most important fatty acids essential
in the diet for growth, physiological functions and general body maintenance in humans,
were found to be acceptable in African Yam Bean at 29.4 and 2.7%, respectively.
ANTI-NUTRITIONAL COMPOUNDS
• α-galactosidase, inositol phosphate, lectin, and tannins.
• Food processing measures-seed dehulling, soaking, and soaking/cooking
• anti-nutritional compounds-lectin, have been found to confer some insecticidal properties
that can be further exploited to benefit food security by reducing storage losses
(Okunola and Machaka, 2000)

41. NITROGEN FIXING ABILITY
• It develops nitrogen-fixing nodules, although attempts have not been made to isolate the
endosymbionts.
• This ability to fix symbiotically atmospheric nitrogen means that African Yam Bean does
not require large amounts of nitrogenous fertilizer to meet its growth demands, thus
making its production affordable.
REGIONS OF CULTIVATION AND CROPPING SYSTEMS
• It is grown as minor intercrop with major crops, such as maize and cassava.
• In major areas of production in Zaire, it is grown as an annual where it is propagated by
seed.

42. CLONAL PROPAGATION FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT:
STEM
CUTTINGS
Single node stem cutting
from 12 month old plant
Simple and Rapid
technique
Adventitious rooting
Affected by;
Seasonal variation
Auxin concentration
Treatment of cutting with 1.0-
5.0g/l IBA
Enhance the rooting
Invitro culture
Applications of
protoplast to
genetic
manipulation
Cowpea
Soy bean
Pigeon pea
Adzuki bean
Axenic shoot
culture from
nodal explants
were established
African yam bean

43. Vigna subterranea – Bambara ground nut is an annual herb with trailing stem.
The two botanical varieties are;
Vigna subterranea var. spontanea- wild form
Vigna subterranea var.subterranea- Cultivated forms
Its chromosome number is 2n=22
It is typically a short day plant.
It prefers bright sun light and an average temperature of 20-28⁰C.

44. A DROUGHT RESILIENT CROP
• Bambara groundnut can maintain leaf turgor
pressure by osmotic adjustment, reduced leaf area,
and operational stomatal regulation.
• Canopy development, size, and duration
• Biomass accumulation and partitioning
• Gas exchange
• Osmoregulation and regulation of photosynthesis
• Leaf temperature-transpiration (leaf
orientation/Para heliotropism) and epicuticular
wax.
DROUGHT
TOLERANCE
MECHANISM
TOLERANCE
ESCAPE
AVOIDANCE
Bambara groundnut has been adapted to contrasting environments, ranging from cool temperatures at
night and high temperatures during the day.

45. PHOTOPERIOD RESPONSE
• The investigations have revealed that the crop requires 12 h photoperiod for maximum
pod-set and seed yield ,while under long photoperiods more leaves are produced at the
expense of pod formation.
(Ogygia 2010)
HARD-TO-COOK (HTC)
A term which reflects the amount of energy needed to make a grain legume edible.
Soybean takes a 3.6-h cooking time which is almost identical
to that of Bambara groundnut.

46. NUTRITIONAL COMPOUNDS :
• Bambara groundnut has 367–414 kal/100 mg energy (Boateng et al. 2013).
• The gross energy value of Bambara groundnut seed is greater than that of other legumes.
• Anti-herbivory factors such as simple protease inhibitors and amino acid β-N-oxalyl-α,β-
diamino propionic acid (ODAP).
• These lead to paralysis when consumed as the only major food source during periods of
famine (Butta et al. 2019).
• Simple treatments such as dehulling, soaking, cooking, fermentation, germination and
others can potentially reduce antinutritional factors and improve bioavailability.

47. IITA has around 1910
Accessions collected
from 18 countries.
GERMPLASAM RESOURCES

48. MOLECULAR TOOLS AND RESOURCES:
• An expression marker-based genetic map containing 218 gene expression markers
(GEMs) across 13 linkage groups, spanning 982.7 cM of the Bambara groundnut
genome, was developed using,
Bambara groundnut leaf ribonucleic acid (RNA)
cross hybridisation
onto the Affymetrix Soybean Genome GeneChip
TO IDENTIFY QTLS INVOLVED IN AGRONOMIC AND DROUGHT-RELATED TRAITS IN
BAMBARA GROUNDNUT

49. • The genus Tylosema belongs to the plant family Fabaceae and subfamily
Ceasalpinioideae.
• Within this genus five species, which are all endemic to Africa, have been characterized.
T. esculentum- most well known and best described of the five species
T. fassoglense
T. argenteum
T. humifusum
T. Angolense
The generic name Tylosema refers to the torulose (i.e. a cylindrical or ellipsoid body) bean
while the word esculentum means edible(beans and tubers).

50. • The marama bean is endemic to the Kalahari
Desert and the neighboring semiarid areas with
nutritionally poor sandy soils.
• The plant occurs widespread and erratic in
Botswana, Namibia and the northern part of South
Africa.
• T. fassoglense being the most widespread species

51. MORPHOLOGICAL STUDIES
• The marama bean is a long-lived and perennial species that generates annually from a
large underground tuber, which may contain up to 90% water and hereby acts as a water
reserve. (Travlos & Karamanos, 2006).
• The plant produces pods, which turn from being soft and reddish over light green to hard
woody and dark brown in color when ripe
(

52. NUTRIENTS
Lipid content
approaches that of
peanuts
Minerals such as Ca ,
Zn and Fe are found in
amount that much of in
Soy bean and peanuts
Protein content equals
that of soybeans
The high protein content makes
the marama bean a great
nutritive and potential protein-
rich food
Higher dietary
fiber content
than flax seeds
Dietary fibers are
good for the
digestive system and
may lower the risk
of diabetes and
heart disease
Similar vitamin E content as
sunflower seeds
Vitamin E acts as a
powerful
antioxidant and
posses potential
anti-carcinogenic
and anti-
inflammatory
activities
Contains lignans, just
like whole grains Lignans are precursors of hormone like
compounds found in mammalian system and
posses a wide range of health promoting
effects in human

53. Processing and its
products

54. • The areas of genomics and proteomics are rapidly expanding in the field of food and
agriculture, medicine, and environment.
• Though few genomic studies have been conducted on some underutilized legumes,
proteomics and metabolomics have not been employed to explore the rich potentials
available in them.
• Genome editing provides the possibility to modify the genomes of the legumes
particularly for plant architecture, hardness of the seeds, and anti-nutritional factors.
• Generally, these sets of legumes have not been subjected to biotechnological
techniques/solutions including sophisticated tissue culture micropropagation and genetic
engineering which offer great opportunities to improve the species for sustainable
utilization.