Effect of incubation period on the glycosylated protein content in germinated and ungerminated seeds of mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

The effects of different incubation periods on the contents of amino acids, proteins, glycosylated proteins and metabolites in germinated and ungerminated mung bean seeds were investigated in this study. The study em-ploys soaking of mung bean seeds in water under laboratory conditions at 28 C for 3, 6, and 9 h, followed by germination for 12, 24, 36, and 48 h. Seeds collected from different period of imbibition and germination were subjected to total protein extraction for phytochemical analysis. Germination of the seeds was found to be most successful after 6 h of soaking (rather than 9 h of incubation). Hence, seeds imbibed for 6 h were further investigated for germination at 28 C for 12, 24, 36, and 48 h. Total protein was extracted from both imbibed and germinated seeds, followed by trypsin digestion. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/ MS)-based peptide mass fingerprinting revealed 38 proteins in 6 h water-imbibed seeds and 50 proteins in 24 h germinated seeds. Among these, 16 were identified as glycosylated proteins and the maximum number of gly-cosylated proteins were detected in 6 h water-imbibed seeds and 24 h germinated seeds. Moreover, High Per-formance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used to quantify amino acids from the extracted proteins. A total of 15 amino acids were detected, of which eight were essential and the remaining were non-essential; amino acid concentrations increased following 3, 6, and 9 h of imbibition when compared to the control. It was concluded from the study that seeds with 6 h of imbibition and 24 h of germination can be used as potential nutritional source of different amino acids, proteins, glycosylated proteins, and other bioactive metabolites in human diet.

Automated summary

This study investigated the effects of different incubation periods on the contents of amino acids, proteins, glycosylated proteins, and metabolites in germinated and ungerminated mung bean seeds. The results showed that soaking the seeds for 6 hours resulted in the most successful germination. Furthermore, it was found that the seeds soaked for 6 hours and germinated for 24 hours had the highest number of glycosylated proteins. Additionally, the study revealed that the concentration of amino acids increased after 3, 6, and 9 hours of soaking. Thus, mung bean seeds soaked for 6 hours and germinated for 24 hours can be considered as a potential nutritional source.