Browsing by Subject "legumes"

The objective of this study was to develop functional method for producing doupled-haploid plants for faba bean. Microspore culture is an advanced method to produce doubled-haploids and it is based on the totipotent nature of plant cells, since even a microspore, which is an immature pollen cell with haploid genome, can develop into a plant. This plant is either haploid or doupled haploid depending on whether there has been chromosome doubling or not and because the chromosomes either do not have pairs or the pairs are pure copies of each other, the plant is completely homozygous. Doubled haploids are already used in breeding programs with several crops such as wheat, barley and oilseed rape. Faba bean is an important legume for food, feed and crop rotation. Together with other legumes it has the potential to replace soybean imports entirely in Finland. Faba bean yield stability and anti-nutritional factors restrain its use and active breeding is required to improve the crop. In Finland, where pea and faba bean are the only grain legumes actively cultivated, the breeding of faba bean has been recently reactivated and its objectives are earliness, higher yield, protein content and improved quality factors. Big bottle neck in faba bean breeding is the creation of pure homozygote lines because the partial cross-breeding in the species sets restrains for the procedure. In this study promising pea and chick pea protocols that were developed in 2009 and an efficient rapeseed protocol were applied with faba bean. The interaction of various stress treatments and two different induction media with five genotypes of faba bean on microspore culture were analysed. Pro-embryos and cell divisions were observed from the cultures. Heat shock was the most effective stress treatment. Effects of density and induction medium were high and cultivar’s low tannin content seemed to impact positively to induction efficiency. These results suggest that for faba bean microspore culture is as suitable method as anther culture is and that there is hope to produce doubled-haploid faba beans in the future.

Intercropping is an old agricultural practise to produce food and could be an interesting option to be utilized today. Use of legumes in mixtures can be a way to produce food more sustainably and minimize negative environmental impacts of current food production. Cultivation area of legumes have declined over recent years, due instability in yields and problems with pests and diseases. Intercropped systems can optimize use of land recourses and reduce issues with pest and disease. Furthermore, legumes could provide a more sustainable source for nitrogen than fossil fuels and more options for both feed and food production, especially for organic farming. Intercropping could also benefit diversity and add more options in crop rotations. In this field experiment intercropping with different mixtures of legumes and other non-legume crops were studied. This experiment by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences was a part of the project Legumes for the agriculture of tomorrow (LEGATO). Project purpose was to promote and find solutions for increased and sustainable production of grain legumes in Europe. The main objectives of this thesis were to compare different crop mixtures and find benefits with intercropping, this thesis focused on peas and faba bean. Does intercropping add yield potential and can it have benefits for yield stability or pest damage. Results showed that intercropping did not benefit pea yields, but instead barley yields. Faba bean Gloria did benefit from intercropping, as did cereals. Yields indicate that more could be produced on the same area of land. Pest damage by pea moth (Cydia nigricana) had some statistical differences between treatments, but there were no similar effects on damage on faba bean by Broad bean weevil (Bruchus rufimanus).

Niacin is a water-soluble B-group vitamin, and it is a general name for nicotinic acid (NA) and nicotinamide (NAM). It is present in foods as available or bound niacin, which is not absorbable. Currently, the main sources of niacin in Finnish diets are meat and dairy products and with the recommendations to shift towards more plant-based diets, a question is raised if legumes would make potential protein-rich sources of niacin. Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate legume ingredients as potential protein-rich sources of available niacin. Available niacin was studied from legume ingredients, extrudates, and seeds as a sum of NA and NAM. Stability of available niacin in high moisture extrusion was investigated and the influence of germination on available niacin was studied. Additionally, the propotions of bound niacin in legume flours and seeds were investigated. Available niacin was extracted with mild acid hydrolysis from legume ingredients, extrudates, and seeds. To study bound niacin, total niacin was extracted with acid-alkaline hydrolysis from legume flours and seeds. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection (UHPLC-FLD) with post-column derivatisation were used for the quantification of NA and NAM. Oligosaccharides were analysed using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) to monitor the germination process. This thesis found that legume ingredients were good sources of available niacin, except for protein isolates. Furthermore, available niacin remained stable in high moisture extrusion and available niacin contents were higher when protein concentrates were favoured as ingredients, rather than protein isolates. Generally, legumes contained more NAM than NA. Germination increased available niacin in faba bean seeds by 30–40%, and oligosaccharide contents decreased. The results of this thesis assumed that legumes contain 20–60% of their niacin in bound forms. However, future research is needed to study bound niacin and niacin bioavailability in legumes, for instance, with a more sensitive and selective tandem-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Background. To achieve healthier diets and to support the transition towards more sustainable food systems, animal protein needs to be replaced with plant-based protein sources as suggested by the EAT-Lancet commission. However, plant-based diets may be harmful to bone health due to lower intakes of vitamin D and calcium. Additionally, whether the different amino acid profiles of plant and animal proteins contribute to bone health has not been addressed. Objectives. The aim was to investigate whether partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes affects bone turnover and whether the intake of individual amino acids from diverse sources play a role in this relationship. In addition, the intake of nutrients important for bone health such as vitamin D and calcium were examined. Materials and methods. The study was a six-week partly controlled randomized clinical trial carried out in a parallel design. 102 healthy men aged 20 – 65 years were stratified into two groups. The meat group consumed 760 g of boneless and cooked red and processed meat per week corresponding to 25 % of the total protein intake. The legume group consumed legume-based products corresponding to 20 % of the total protein intake and 200 g of red and processed meat per week corresponding to 5% of total protein intake. The rest of the diet was not controlled. Bone turnover and mineral metabolism markers were analyzed from the blood samples. Analysis of covariance (adjust for baseline values) was used to analyze the differences between the groups. Nutrient intake was recorded with 4-day food records and analyzed with t-test. Intakes of protein, amino acids, and bone-related nutrients were of interest. Results. No differences in bone formation (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase) or bone resorption markers (tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b) were observed between the diet groups (P=0.875 and P=0.95). Neither parathyroid hormone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcium, or phosphate concentrations differed between the groups (P=0.32, P=0.32, P=0.826, P=0.32, respectively). Parathyroid hormone concentrations increased (meat P=0.006; legume P< 0.001) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations decreased significantly in both groups (meat P=0.043; legume P=0.018). Protein, calcium, and vitamin D intakes did not differ between the groups at the endpoint (P=0.276, P=0.271 P=0.840, respectively). Regarding individual amino acids, methionine intake was higher in the meat group (P=0.041) whereas the legume group had higher intakes of arginine (P< 0.001), asparagine and aspartic acid (P=0.001), glutamine and glutamic acid (P=0.008), leucine (P=0.045) phenylalanine (P=0.001), proline (P=0.015), serine (P=0.046) and tyrosine (P=0.029). Mean intakes of nutrients and essential amino acids in both groups were met the recommendations. Conclusions: Our results suggest that increasing the proportion of plant-based protein by replacing red and processed meat in the diet does not cause a risk for bone health and provides adequate amounts of essential amino acids and nutrients. However, it seems that in the present study differing amino acid intakes did not contribute to bone turnover.

Background Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as butyrate, acetate and propionate, mainly originate from dietary fibre fermentation in the colon. In recent years, additional gastrointestinal (local) and systemic effects of SCFAs have been observed in vitro and in both animals and humans in vivo. Faecal SCFAs have been associated with several conditions and diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Aim(s) The BEAN MAN study was carried out to assess the effects of the partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes on nutrient intake, nutritional status, and the risk factors of type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This thesis was part of the BEAN MAN study and investigated the effects of partially replacing red and processed meat with legumes on the concentration and composition of faecal SCFAs in healthy, working-age Finnish men. As a secondary outcome, the intake of dietary fibre and soluble polysaccharides were assessed and correlations between the total and individual SCFAs were analysed. Methods The BEAN MAN study was a 6-week randomized dietary intervention, with two diet groups in a parallel design. The Conventional Finnish diet group (Conventional FIN) was given 760 g/week of red and processed meat, corresponding the average meat consumption of Finnish men. The Flexitarian/Legume group (Flex/Leg) received 200 g/week of red and processed meat, and legume products to provide an equal amount of protein as 560 g of red meat. The faecal samples obtained from the participants before and at the end of the intervention period were freeze-dried, and SCFA were extracted and analysed using gas chromatography. Dietary fibre intake was analysed based on 4-day food records. Results At the endpoint, no significant differences in total (p = 0.560) nor individual SCFAs concentration and composition between the two diet groups were observed (ANCOVA, baseline as a covariate). The dietary fibre intake of the Flex/Leg group was higher (p < 0,001) when compared to the Conventional FIN. This was not the case for soluble polysaccharides. No correlation between the dietary fibre intake and the concentration of total or individual SCFA was found. Conclusion The concentration and composition of faecal SCFAs were not significantly affected by the partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes during the 6-week intervention. This may highlight a more complex relationship between diet, microbiota and the production of SCFA.

Background Endogenous formation of possibly carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds may partly explain the association between red and processed meat and colorectal cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of partial replacement of red and processed meat with legumes on the fecal total and heme-originated N-nitroso compounds (NOC) in healthy working-aged Finnish men. Methods The study was a 6-wk parallel design randomized clinical trial with two groups following either a diet supplemented with red and processed meat or a diet supplemented with legumes and red and processed meat. Total and heme-originated NOCs were analyzed from fecal homogenates using Ecomedics CLD 88. Statistical analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 27. Independent samples t-test and Chi-Square test were used to assess the differences between the intervention groups at the baseline. Differences in total and heme-originated NOCs between the intervention groups at the endpoint were analyzed using ANCOVA (adjusted for baseline values). For correlations, Pearson correlation was used. Results 102 men completed the study. No significant differences between the groups were reported at the baseline. At the endpoint, fecal concentrations of total NOC (p < 0.0001) and heme-originated NOC (p < 0.0001) were lower in the legume and red meat group than in the red meat group. A moderate negative correlation between stool volume and NOC concentrations was observed. Conclusions The results indicate that even a partial replacement of red and processed meat with legume products can significantly reduce the total and heme-originated NOC concentrations in feces and potentially reduce the risk for the development of CRC.