The common bean, a staple in Mexican cuisine, has the potential to be transformed into high-quality ingredients that can enhance the nutritional profile of foods like pasta, bread, and nutritional bars, boosting their fiber, protein, antioxidant compounds, and glycemic index.

Processing this widely consumed legume can yield a variety of ingredients, including flour, proteins, and phenolic extracts (antioxidants), which could serve as alternatives for the food industry.

Diego Armando Luna, a researcher in the Department of Bioengineering at Tec de Monterrey and a member of the Healthy Foods Unit at the Institute for Obesity Research, explains that although the common bean is traditionally viewed as a part of the Mexican diet, its consumption has declined over the years. It has even been associated with negative social perceptions, often seen as food for low-income households.

Alongside his colleagues, Luna participated in the study of Common beans as a source of food ingredients: techno-functional and biological potential, which aimed to revalue and maintain this food as an integral part of the traditional Mexican diet, highlighting its high nutritional value.

“This is the Phaseolus vulgaris species that we consume in Mexico, available in various colors: black, brown, yellow, cream, and pinto. For about a decade, there has been significant interest in studying them because they represent a source of low-cost natural ingredients that culturally resonate with consumers,” he shared in an interview with TecScience.

Luna emphasizes the legume’s potential for the food industry, noting that it is relatively easy to cultivate and technically not difficult to process.

The Common Bean and Its Health Benefits

According to Luna, research has shown that the common bean possesses bioactive properties that can support gut microbiota, aid in weight management, and reduce the risk of developing non-communicable diseases.

“The bean is considered a nutraceutical or functional food, meaning that its consumption has beneficial effects,” he adds.

It is a rich source of proteins and vitamins such as B6, thiamine, niacin, and riboflavin, as well as essential minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and magnesium.

Luna points out that these beneficial properties are found in various parts of the bean. For example, the skin contains many polyphenols and anthocyanins (pigments) with antioxidant properties and fiber.

The rest of the seed provides protein, which, when consumed, offers essential nutrients for bodily functions. “If it is pre-digested before consumption, meaning it is ‘hydrolyzed,’ it breaks down into smaller protein fragments that have beneficial effects.”

Among the properties identified in preclinical studies are anti-cancer effects attributed to pigments and protein fragments, commonly known as bioactive peptides. For instance, colorectal cancer has been prevented in both in vitro models and animal studies. Additionally, the bean is linked to anti-diabetic factors and hypertension control.

Beans in Snacks and Other Products

According to the study, the common bean is “rich in protein, slow-digesting starch, fiber, phenolic compounds, and other bioactive molecules that could be separated and processed to obtain value-added ingredients with techno-functional and biological potential.”

This versatile food has primarily been used as flour for making snacks like tortilla chips and bars. Research and testing have also been conducted to produce tortillas and even beverages. Moreover, the protein from the bean has been utilized to enrich various types of yogurt.

“It’s also used in ‘milk’ for barista products, as it has excellent foaming capacity and can hold up well in coffee for an extended period,” Luna explains.

In addition to flour, ingredients based on the common bean can be developed that contain proteins, carbohydrates, and extracts rich in phenolic compounds. These can be used in products made from corn and wheat and even used as preservatives.

Looking ahead, Luna sees promising technologies that could help make bean flour more accepted in the food industry. These include thermal treatments, such as ohmic heating, which applies heat to food using electrical currents, and fermentation processes involving fungi to enhance flavor profiles.

Diego Armando Luna notes a growing trend to explore the milpa system, suggesting that bean flour could be combined with other traditional Mexican ingredients like corn, chili, or squash, presenting more significant opportunities for creating high-quality products.

Challenges for the Common Bean in the Industry

Despite the common bean’s nutritional protein value attracting attention, Luna points out that there are also significant challenges to its acceptance in the food industry.

One major issue is the need for comprehensive utilization of the whole bean, including equipment to separate the hull for pigments and fibers while processing the grain into portions of carbohydrates and protein. The latter has drawn considerable interest due to its amino acid profile and nutritional value.

“From a technological standpoint, the carbohydrate aspect of the bean is still somewhat underexplored. While it supports healthy gut microbiota, incorporating it into baked goods, tortillas, and cookies presents challenges. The flours do not yield elastic textures; rather, they tend to produce hard and brittle products,” he explains.

Flavor is another hurdle. Research teams are working on masking the bean’s taste using microencapsulation technologies alongside efforts to scale and optimize industrial processes.

Additionally, a commercial challenge related to the bean’s cooking properties is known as the “hard to cook” phenomenon. This issue is linked to aging and hardening due to prolonged storage in adverse conditions of high temperature and humidity. Nevertheless, Luna emphasizes that the bean remains a valuable source of ingredients.

“Technologically, it may not have the most desirable properties in the industry, comparable to chickpeas and lentils, and slightly less than peas. However, its value lies in the cultural identity it represents for our country and its significance in our diet. Moreover, its protein nature and chemical composition are related to health benefits and are more efficient than many other legumes,” Luna comments.

Were you interested in this story? Do you want to publish it? Contact our content editor to learn more about marianaleonm@tec.mx