Graduate Studies
Characterization and Evaluation of Bioactivity of Dry Edible Beans and Bean Derived Small Peptides
Copyright 2023, Bikram Upadhyaya
Abstract
Obesity, diabetes, and their metabolic complications continue to be one of the major global public health concerns with a few effective treatment options. Although regular exercise and a well-balanced diet that includes calories from pulses can be recommended, much remains to be elucidated about the health effects of the various bioactive compounds including peptides and polyphenols present in pulses. Most of the previous studies have focused on individual dietary compounds and only a few investigated the synergistic effect of active compounds in modulating human health. Hence this dissertation aimed first, to provide a comparative evaluation of the overall therapeutic value of three popular bean varieties using cell-based assay and second, to explain the observed effects by critically evaluating individual dietary compounds and their relative abundance in each bean variety. This study delved into the chemical composition, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of black (BLK), Great Northern (GNB), and pinto (PNT) beans and showed that certain aspects of the bioactivity of the GNB come from other less known compounds including the di- and tri-peptides. This study is also the first to investigate the bioavailability and metabolic effects of ��-glutamyl valine (��-EV), a di-peptide found in dry edible beans, in a diabetic obese mouse model (db/db mice). Lower blood glucose, improved polyuria, and upregulation of hepatic AMPK activity illustrated ��-EV’s anti-diabetic potential in these mice. In addition, modulation of gut microbiome specially the abundance of Akkermansia spp. population in the treated animals supported its antidiabetic effect. Taken together, these findings support the notion that probiotic Akkermansia spp. has antidiabetic potential and ��-EV could enhance this effect.