Bean

For other uses, see Bean (disambiguation).

French bean pods on a plant

A bean is the seed of any plant in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed.[1] The seeds are often preserved through drying, but fresh beans are also sold. Most beans are traditionally soaked and boiled, but they can be cooked in many different ways,[2] including frying and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes throughout the world. The unripe seedpods of some varieties are also eaten whole as green beans or edamame (immature soybean), but fully ripened beans contain toxins like phytohemagglutinin and require cooking.

Terminology

The word 'bean', for the Old World vegetable, existed in Old English,[3] long before the New World genus Phaseolus was known in Europe. With the Columbian exchange of domestic plants between Europe and the Americas, use of the word was extended to pod-borne seeds of Phaseolus, such as the common bean and the runner bean, and the related genus Vigna. The term has long been applied generally to seeds of similar form,[4] such as Old World soybeans and lupins, and to the fruits or seeds of unrelated plants such as coffee beans, vanilla beans, castor beans, and cocoa beans.[5]

History

See also: Columbian exchange

Beans were among the first plants to be domesticated. Broad or fava beans are in their wild state the size of a small fingernail; they were first gathered in Afghanistan and the Himalayan foothills.[6] An early cultivated form was grown in Thailand from the early seventh millennium BCE, predating ceramics.[7] Beans were deposited with the dead in ancient Egypt. Not until the second millennium BCE did cultivated, large-seeded broad beans appear in the Aegean region, Iberia, and transalpine Europe.[8] In the Iliad (8th century BCE), there is a passing mention of beans and chickpeas cast on the threshing floor.[9]

The oldest-known domesticated beans in the Americas were found in Guitarrero Cave, an archaeological site in Peru, and dated to around the second millennium BCE.[10] Genetic analyses of the common bean Phaseolus show that it originated in Mesoamerica, and subsequently spread southward, along with maize and squash, traditional companion crops.[11]

Most of the kinds of beans commonly eaten today are part of the genus Phaseolus, which originated in the Americas. The first European to encounter them was Christopher Columbus, while exploring what may have been the Bahamas, and saw them growing in fields. Five kinds of Phaseolus beans were domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples, selecting pods that did not open and scatter their seeds when ripe: common beans (P. vulgaris) grown from Chile to the northern part of the United States; lima and sieva beans (P. lunatus); and the less widely distributed teparies (P. acutifolius), scarlet runner beans (P. coccineus), and polyanthus beans.[12]

Pre-Columbian peoples as far north as the Atlantic seaboard grew beans in the "Three Sisters" method of companion planting. The beans were interplanted with maize and squash.[13] Beans were cultivated across Chile in Pre-Hispanic times, likely as far south as the Chiloé Archipelago.[14]

Diversity

Taxonomic range

Most beans are legumes, but from many different genera, native to different regions.[15]

Genus Species and common varieties Probable home region Distribution, climate Notes
Phaseolus The Americas Tropical, subtropical, Warm temperate Some contain high levels of toxic phytohemagglutinin.[16][17][18]
Pisum P. sativum: Green/garden, white, yellow, field, snow, and snap peas Mediterranean Subtropical, temperate, occasionally cool tropical
Vigna Mostly South Asia Equatorial, pantropical, warm subtropical, hot temperate
Cajanus C. cajan: pigeon pea Indian Subcontinent Pantropical, equatorial
Lens L. culinaris: red, green, and Puy lentils Near East/Levant Temperate, subtropical, cool tropical
Cicer C. arietinum: chickpeas Turkey/Levant/Near East Temperate, subtropical, cool tropical
Vicia Near East Subtropical, temperate Causes Favism in susceptible people.[19][20]
Arachis A. hypogaea: peanut South America Warm Subtropical, cool tropical
Glycine G. max: soybean East Asia Hot temperate, Subtropical, cool tropical
Macrotyloma M. uniflorum: horsegram South Asia Tropical, subtropical
Mucuna M. pruriens: velvet bean Tropical Asia and Africa Tropical, Warm Subtropical Contains L-DOPA,[21] and smaller amounts of other psychoactive compounds. Can cause itching and rashes on contact.
Lupinus The Mediterranean, Balkans, Levant (albinus), The Andes (mutabilis) Subtropical, temperate Requires soaking to remove toxins.[22]
Ceratonia C. siliqua: carob bean Mediterranean, Middle East Subtropical, arid subtropical, hot temperate
Canavalia South Asia or Africa (C. gladiata), Brazil and South America (C. Ensiformis) Tropical
Cyamopsis C. tetragonoloba: guar bean Africa or South Asia Tropical, semi-arid Source of Guar gum
Lablab L. purpureus: hyacinth/lablab bean South Asia, Indian Subcontinent or Africa Tropical
Psophocarpus P. tetranoglobulus: winged bean New Guinea Tropical, equatorial
Clitoria C. ternatea: butterfly pea Equatorial and Tropical Asia Tropical, subtropical Flowers used as a natural food colouring
Lathyrus Balkans, India or Asia Subtropical Can cause Lathyrism if used as staple.[23][24]

Conservation of cultivars

The biodiversity of bean cultivars is threatened by modern plant breeding, which selects a small number of the most productive varieties. Efforts are being made to conserve the germplasm of older varieties in different countries.[25][26] As of 2023, the Norwegian Svalbard Global Seed Vault holds more than 40,000 accessions of Phaseolus bean species.[27]

Cultivation

Agronomy

Unlike the closely related pea, beans are a summer crop that needs warm temperatures to grow. Legumes are capable of nitrogen fixation and hence need less fertiliser than most plants. Maturity is typically 55–60 days from planting to harvest.[28] As the pods mature, they turn yellow and dry up, and the beans inside change from green to their mature colour. Many beans are vines needing external support, such as "bean cages" or poles. Native Americans customarily grew them along with corn and squash, the tall stalks acting as support for the beans.[29]

More recently, the commercial "bush bean" which does not require support and produces all its pods simultaneously has been developed.[30]

Production

Main article: Legume § Production
Beans in a market

The production data for legumes are published by FAO in three categories:

  1. Pulses dry: all mature and dry seeds of leguminous plants except soybeans and groundnuts.
  2. Oil crops: soybeans and groundnuts.
  3. Fresh vegetable: immature green fresh fruits of leguminous plants.

The following is a summary of FAO data.[31]

Production of legumes (million metric tons)
Crops
[FAO code][32] 		1961 1981 2001 2015 2016 Ratio
2016 /1961 		Remarks
Total pulses (dry) [1726] 40.78 41.63 56.23 77.57 81.80 2.01 Per capita production decreased.
(Population grew 2.4×)
Oil crops (dry)
Soybeans [236] 26.88 88.53 177.02 323.20 334.89 12.46 Increase driven by animal feeds and oil.
Groundnuts, with shell [242] 14.13 20.58 35.82 45.08 43.98 3.11
Fresh vegetables (80–90% water)
Beans, green [414] 2.63 4.09 10.92 23.12 23.60 8.96
Peas, green [417] 3.79 5.66 12.41 19.44 19.88 5.25
Top producers, pulses [1726][33]
(million metric tons)
Country 2016 Share
Total 81.80 100%
1 India 17.56 21.47%
2 Canada 8.20 10.03%
3 Myanmar 6.57 8.03%
4 China 4.23 5.17%
5 Nigeria 3.09 3.78%
6 Russia 2.94 3.60%
7 Ethiopia 2.73 3.34%
8 Brazil 2.62 3.21%
9 Australia 2.52 3.09%
10 USA 2.44 2.98%
11 Niger 2.06 2.51%
12 Tanzania 2.00 2.45%
Others 24.82 30.34%

The world leader in production of dry beans (Phaseolus spp),[34] is India, followed by Myanmar (Burma) and Brazil. In Africa, the most important producer is Tanzania.[35]

Top ten dry beans (Phaseolus spp) producers, 2020
Country Production
(tonnes) 		Footnote
 India 5,460,000 FAO figure
 Myanmar 3,053,012 Official figure
 Brazil 3,035,290 Aggregated data
 United States 1,495,180 Semi-official data
 China 1,281,586 Official figure
 Tanzania 1,267,648 FAO figure
 Mexico 1,056,071 Official figure
 Kenya 774,366 FAO figure
 Argentina 633,823 Semi-official data
 Uganda 603,980 Official figure
 World 27,545,942 Aggregated data

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)[36]

Uses

Nutrition

Green beans, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy31 kcal (130 kJ)
6.97 g
Sugars3.26 g
Dietary fiber2.7 g
0.22 g
1.83 g
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Thiamine (B1)
7%
0.082 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
8%
0.104 mg
Niacin (B3)
5%
0.734 mg
Vitamin B6
8%
0.141 mg
Folate (B9)
8%
33 μg
Vitamin C
14%
12.2 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
3%
37 mg
Iron
6%
1.03 mg
Magnesium
6%
25 mg
Phosphorus
3%
38 mg
Potassium
7%
211 mg
Sodium
0%
6 mg
Zinc
2%
0.24 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water90.3 g
Link to USDA Database entry, FoodData Central
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[37] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[38]

Raw green beans are 90% water, 7% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and contain negligible fat. In a 100 grams (3.5 oz) reference serving, raw green beans supply 31 calories of food energy, and are a moderate source (10-19% of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin C (15% DV) and vitamin B6 (11% DV), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table).

Culinary

Other

Guar beans are used for their gum.

Guar beans are used for their gum, a galactomannan polysaccharide. It is used to thicken and stabilise foods and other products.[39]

Health concerns

Toxins

Main articles: Phytohaemagglutinin and Soybean agglutinin

Some kinds of raw beans contain a harmful, flavourless toxin: the lectin phytohaemagglutinin, which must be destroyed by cooking. Red kidney beans are particularly toxic, but other types also pose risks of food poisoning. Even small quantities (4 or 5 raw beans) may cause severe stomachache, vomiting, and diarrhea. This risk does not apply to canned beans because they have already been cooked.[40] A recommended method is to boil the beans for at least ten minutes; under-cooked beans may be more toxic than raw beans.[41]

Cooking beans, without bringing them to a boil, in a slow cooker at a temperature well below boiling may not destroy toxins.[41] A case of poisoning by butter beans used to make falafel was reported; the beans were used instead of traditional broad beans or chickpeas, soaked and ground without boiling, made into patties, and shallow fried.[42]

Bean poisoning is not well known in the medical community, and many cases may be misdiagnosed or never reported; figures appear not to be available. In the case of the UK National Poisons Information Service, available only to health professionals, the dangers of beans other than red beans were not flagged as of 2008.[42]

Fermentation is used in some parts of Africa to improve the nutritional value of beans by removing toxins. Inexpensive fermentation improves the nutritional impact of flour from dry beans and improves digestibility, according to research co-authored by Emire Shimelis, from the Food Engineering Program at Addis Ababa University.[43] Beans are a major source of dietary protein in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.[44]

Other hazards

It is common to make beansprouts by letting some types of bean, often mung beans, germinate in moist and warm conditions; beansprouts may be used as ingredients in cooked dishes, or eaten raw or lightly cooked. There have been many outbreaks of disease from bacterial contamination, often by salmonella, listeria, and Escherichia coli, of beansprouts not thoroughly cooked,[45] some causing significant mortality.[46]

Many types of bean like kidney bean contain significant amounts of antinutrients that inhibit some enzyme processes in the body. Phytic acid, present in beans, interferes with bone growth and interrupts vitamin D metabolism.[47][48]

Many beans, including broad beans, navy beans, kidney beans and soybeans, contain large sugar molecules, oligosaccharides (particularly raffinose and stachyose). A suitable oligosaccharide-cleaving enzyme is necessary to digest these. As the human digestive tract does not contain such enzymes, consumed oligosaccharides are digested by bacteria in the large intestine, producing gases such as methane, released as flatulence.[49][50][51][52]

In human society

The Beaneater (c.1584) by Annibale Carracci

Beans have often been thought of as a food of the poor, as small farmers ate grains, vegetables, and got their protein from beans, while the wealthier classes were able to afford meat.[53] European society has what Ken Albala calls "a class-based antagonism" to beans.[53]

Different cultures agree in disliking the flatulence that beans cause, and possess their own seasonings to attempt to remedy it: Mexico uses the herb epazote; India the aromatic resin asafoetida; Germany applies the herb savory; in the Middle East, cumin; and Japan the seaweed kombu.[53] A substance for which there is evidence of effectiveness in reducing flatulence is the enzyme alpha-galactosidase;[53] extracted from the mould fungus Aspergillus niger, it breaks down glycolipids and glycoproteins.[54][55] The reputation of beans for flatulence is the theme of a children's song "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit".[56]

The Mexican jumping bean is a segment of a seed pod occupied by the larva of the moth Cydia saltitans, and sold as a novelty. The pods, of the woody plant Sebastiania pavoniana (in the spurge family), start to jump when warmed in the palm of the hand. Scientists have suggested that the random walk that results may help the larva to find shade and so to survive on hot days.[57]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Clark, Mellisa. "How to Cook Beans". New York Times Cooking. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  3. ^ "bean (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Definition And Classification Of Commodities (See Chapter 4)". FAO. 1994. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  6. ^ Kaplan 2008, pp. 27 ff.
  7. ^ Gorman, C.F. (1969). "Hoabinhian: A pebble-tool complex with early plant associations in southeast Asia". Science. 163 (3868): 671–673. Bibcode:1969Sci...163..671G. doi:10.1126/science.163.3868.671. PMID 17742735. S2CID 34052655.
  8. ^ Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf Domestication of Plants in the Old World Oxford University Press, 2012, ISBN 0199549060, p. 114.
  9. ^ "And as in some great threshing-floor go leaping From a broad pan the black-skinned beans or peas." (Iliad xiii, 589).
  10. ^ Chazan, Michael (2008). World Prehistory and Archaeology: Pathways through Time. Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 978-0-205-40621-0.
  11. ^ Bitocchi, Elena; Nanni, Laura; Bellucci, Elisa; Rossi, Monica; Giardini, Alessandro; et al. (3 April 2012). "Mesoamerican origin of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is revealed by sequence data". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (14): E788 – E796. doi:10.1073/pnas.1108973109. PMC 3325731. PMID 22393017.
  12. ^ Kaplan 2008, p. 30.
  13. ^ Mt. Pleasant, Jane (2006). "The science behind the Three Sisters mound system: An agronomic assessment of an indigenous agricultural system in the northeast". In Staller, John E.; Tykot, Robert H.; Benz, Bruce F. (eds.). Histories of Maize: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Prehistory, Linguistics, Biogeography, Domestication, and Evolution of Maize. Amsterdam: Academic Press. pp. 529–537. ISBN 978-0-1236-9364-8.
  14. ^ Pardo B., Oriana; Pizarro, José Luis (2014). Chile: Plantas alimentarias Prehispánicas (in Spanish) (2015 ed.). Arica, Chile: Ediciones Parina. p. 162. ISBN 9789569120022.
  15. ^ "Legumes and Pulses". The Nutrition Source. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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  17. ^ Nciri, Nader; Cho, Namjun (15 December 2017). "New research highlights: Impact of chronic ingestion of white kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. Beldia) on small-intestinal disaccharidase activity in Wistar rats". Toxicology Reports. 5: 46–55. doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2017.12.016. ISSN 2214-7500. PMC 5735304. PMID 29270365.
  18. ^ Sun, Yufeng; Liu, Jiameng; Huang, Yatao; Li, Minmin; Lu, Jia; et al. (1 January 2019). "Phytohemagglutinin content in fresh kidney bean in China". International Journal of Food Properties. 22 (1): 405–413. doi:10.1080/10942912.2019.1590399. ISSN 1094-2912.
  19. ^ Belsey, Mark A. (1973). "The epidemiology of favism". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 48 (1): 1–13. ISSN 0042-9686. PMC 2481045. PMID 4541143.
  20. ^ Tarhani, Fariba; Nezami, Alireza; Heidari, Ghobad; Abdolkarimi, Babak (18 August 2020). "Clinical Manifestations and Therapeutic Findings of the Children with Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency Presenting Favism". Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders Drug Targets. 21 (6): 1125–1129. doi:10.2174/1871530320999200818182905. PMID 32811422. S2CID 221182334.
  21. ^ Raina, Archana P.; Khatri, Renu (2011). "Quantitative Determination of L-DOPA in Seeds of Mucuna Pruriens Germplasm by High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography". Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 73 (4): 459–462. doi:10.4103/0250-474X.95651 (inactive 1 November 2024). PMC 3374567. PMID 22707835.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
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  25. ^ Fiore, Maria Carola; et al. (2020). "Preserving biodiversity in marginal rural areas: Assessment of morphological and genetic variability of a Sicilian common bean germplasm collection". Plants. 9 (8): 989. Bibcode:2020Plnts...9..989F. doi:10.3390/plants9080989. PMC 7463873. PMID 32759817.
  26. ^ Debouck, D. G. (2014). "Conservation of Phaseolus beans genetic resources: A strategy" (PDF). Rome, Italy: Global Crop Diversity Trust.
  27. ^ "The seeds". Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  28. ^ Shurtleff, William; Aoyagi, Akiko (1 October 2013). Early Named Soybean Varieties in the United States and Canada: Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook. Soyinfo Center. ISBN 9781928914600. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
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  30. ^ "The Germination Of a Bean" (PDF). Microscopy-uk.org.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  31. ^ FAO STAT Production/Crops.
  32. ^ See Legume § Classification.
  33. ^ All legumes dry.
  34. ^ Dry beans does not include broad beans, dry peas, chickpea, lentil.
  35. ^ FAO Pulses and Derived Products Archived 7 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  36. ^ "Major Food And Agricultural Commodities And Producers – Countries By Commodity". Fao.org. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  37. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  38. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). "Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp. 120–121. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  39. ^ Thombare, Nandkishore; Jha, Usha; Mishra, Sumit; Siddiqui, M.Z. (July 2016). "Guar gum as a promising starting material for diverse applications: A review". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 88: 361–372. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.04.001. PMID 27044346.
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  42. ^ a b Vicky Jones (15 September 2008). "Beware of the beans: How beans can be a surprising source of food poisoning". The Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  43. ^ Shimelis, Emire Admassu; Rakshit, Sudip Kumar (2008). "Influence of natural and controlled fermentations on α-galactosides, antinutrients and protein digestibility of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)". International Journal of Food Science & Technology. 43 (4): 658–665. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01506.x. ISSN 1365-2621.
  44. ^ Summary: Fermentation 'improves nutritional value of beans' Archived 22 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine (Sub Saharan Africa page, Science and Development Network website). Paper: Influence of natural and controlled fermentations on α-galactosides, antinutrients and protein digestibility of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)
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  46. ^ "Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC): Update on outbreak in the EU (27 July 2011, 11:00)". European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. 27 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
  47. ^ Harrison, D.C.; Mellanby, E (October 1939). "Phytic acid and the rickets-producing action of cereals". Biochemical Journal. 33 (10): 1660–1680.1. doi:10.1042/bj0331660. PMC 1264631. PMID 16747083.
  48. ^ Nagel, Ramiel (26 March 2010). "Living With Phytic Acid". The Weston A Price Foundation. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  49. ^ "Health: Experts make flatulence-free bean". BBC News. 25 April 2006. Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  50. ^ "Flatulence – Overview – Introduction". Nhs.uk. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  51. ^ McGee, Harold (2003). Food and Cooking. Simon & Schuster. p. 486. ISBN 978-0684843285. Many legumes, especially soy, navy and lima beans, cause a sudden increase in bacterial activity and gas production a few hours after they're consumed. This is because they contain large amounts of carbohydrates that human digestive enzymes can't convert into absorbable sugars. These carbohydrates therefore leave the upper intestine unchanged and enter the lower reaches, where our resident bacterial population does the job we are unable to do.
  52. ^ Barham, Peter (2001). The Science of Cooking. Springer. p. 14. ISBN 978-3-540-67466-5. we do not possess any enzymes that are capable of breaking down larger sugars, such as raffinose etc. These 3, 4 and 5 ring sugars are made by plants especially as part of the energy storage system in seeds and beans. If these sugars are ingested, they can't be broken down in the intestines; rather, they travel into the colon, where various bacteria digest them
  53. ^ a b c d Albala, Ken (15 August 2007). Beans. Oxford: Berg. pp. x, xiv, 1, 12. ISBN 978-1-84520-430-3.
  54. ^ Di Stefano, Michele; Miceli, Emanuela; Gotti, Samantha; Missanelli, Antonio; Mazzocchi, Samanta; Corazza, Gino Roberto (2007). "The Effect of Oral α-Galactosidase on Intestinal Gas Production and Gas-Related Symptoms". Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 52 (1): 78–83. doi:10.1007/s10620-006-9296-9. PMID 17151807.
  55. ^ Ganiats, T. G.; Norcross, W. A.; Halverson, A. L.; Burford, P. A.; Palinkas, L. A. (1994). "Does Beano prevent gas? A double-blind crossover study of oral alpha-galactosidase to treat dietary oligosaccharide intolerance". The Journal of Family Practice. 39 (5): 441–445. PMID 7964541.
  56. ^ Carey, Bjorn (25 April 2006). "Scientists take the 'toot' out of beans". NBC News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
  57. ^ Ouellette, Jennifer (9 February 2023). "Study: Mexican jumping beans use random walk strategy to find shade". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.

Bibliography

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