Effects of germination and cooking for enhanced in vitro iron, calcium and zinc bioaccessibility from faba bean, azuki bean and mung bean sprouts

To optimize germination time and heat treatments for enhanced availability of iron from leguminous sprouts, three legumes, namely faba, azuki bean and mung bean, were germinated for three periods followed by cooking of sprouts by two cooking methods, i.e. pressure cooking and microwaving. The optimized germination times were 36, 48 and 60 h for faba bean; 16, 20 and 24h for azuki bean and 12, 16 and 20h for mung bean. Soaking and germination significantly reduced the phytate in all three legumes, the percentage reduction being 13.7 to 14.8% during soaking and 45.2 to 50.1% during germination. The study concluded that the longer germination periods, i.e. 60h for faba bean, 24h for azuki bean and 20h for mung bean, followed by pressure cooking for optimized times, resulted in better iron availability.