With the growing global demand for functional foods and the significant food waste from agricultural byproducts, understanding the nutritional potential of underutilized plant tissues is increasingly critical. While mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) is widely cultivated for its seeds’ nutritional value, its mature pods often discarded due to tough texture. This study systematically analyzed polyphenol profiles (total phenolics and 9 specific compounds) and antioxidant capacities in seeds and pods of six mung bean varieties with distinct colors (Zhonglv No.5 (ZL-5), Zhonglv No.13 (ZL-13), Suhuang No.1 (SH-1), LL655, C36, and C158). All varieties exhibited significantly higher total phenolics in pods than seeds, with SH-1 pods and LL655 seeds reaching the highest 4.19 ± 0.83 and 1.71 ± 0.09 mg GAE/g FW among the studied varieties, respectively. Seeds were dominated by vitexin and isovitexin, while pods had abundant caffeic acid. Comprehensive antioxidant evaluation indicated LL655 and C36 with the highest antioxidant potential separately in seed and pod tissues, making them ideal materials for direct functional food applications. Specifically, abundant phenolics hindered the yellowness of mung bean pods, probably owing to their maintenance and completion on other pigments like chlorophyll or carotenoids. Additionally, SH-1 pods contained high total phenolic content, suggesting the utility as a raw material for functional food by-products. These findings provide a scientific basis for the nutritional value of mung bean pods, therefore may improve the utilization of mung bean tissues and promote the value-added applications in functional foods.
Xiang et al. (2026) studied this question.