NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES OF SEEDS OF RELATED SPECIES OF THE GENUS PHASEOLUS L.

The nutritional properties of three related bean species - Phaseolus multiflorus Lam., P. acutifolius A. Gray, and P. lunatus L. - from the core collection of beans of the National Centre for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine were studied. The related species under investigation were ranked in descending order according to their nutritional value as follows: P. multiflorus Lam., P. lunatus L., P. acutifolius A. Gray. P. multiflorus Lam. accessions had the highest content of proteins (the mean protein content in dry matter was 25.10%) and the highest antioxidant activity (6.09–6.16 mg chlorogenic acid equivalent (CAE) /g of seeds). The P. lunatus L. accessions were significantly inferior to the scarlet bean accessions in terms of protein content in seeds (the mean protein content was 19.39 %), while the antioxidant activity in P. lunatus L. was similar to that in the scarlet beans with the same color of the seed coat (1.05–2.34 mg CAE/g of seeds). The P. acutifolius A. Gray accessions had the lowest protein content (the mean protein content was 17.43%). The antioxidant activity in this species was 1.27–1.62 mg CAE/g of seeds. Analysis of cooking time of seeds of the related bean species showed that they were ranked in ascending order according to their cooking time as follows: P. acutifolius A. Gray, P. lunatus L., P. multiflorus Lam. It was found that the cooking time of mature seeds was negatively correlated with their nutritional properties in the studied related bean species. Analysis of path coefficients showed that seed coat thickness had a direct positive effect on antioxidant activity, while protein content in dry seeds had a direct negative effect on antioxidant activity. Protein content in seeds had a direct positive effect on cooking time of seeds.