Improvement of the functional value of green soybean (edamame) using germination and tempe fermentation: A comparative metabolomics study

Marvin Nathanael Iman; Rafidha Irdiani; Della Rahmawati; Eiichiro Fukusaki; Sastia Prama Putri

doi:10.1016/j.jbiosc.2023.05.012

Improvement of the functional value of green soybean (edamame) using germination and tempe fermentation: A comparative metabolomics study

J Biosci Bioeng. 2023 Sep;136(3):205-212. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2023.05.012. Epub 2023 Jun 17.

Authors

Marvin Nathanael Iman¹, Rafidha Irdiani¹, Della Rahmawati², Eiichiro Fukusaki³, Sastia Prama Putri⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
² Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Swiss German University, Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.
³ Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Osaka University-Shimadzu Omics Innovation Research Laboratories, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Industrial Biotechnology Initiative Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Electronic address: sastia_putri@bio.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 37331843
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2023.05.012

Abstract

Green soybean, also known as edamame, is a legume with high nutritional and functional value. Despite its growing popularity and potential health benefits, the functionality of green soybean has not been thoroughly studied. Previous research on the functionality of green soybean has largely focused on a limited number of specific, well-studied, bioactive metabolites, without comprehensively investigating the metabolome of this legume. Additionally, very few studies have explored the improvement of the functional value of green soybean. This study aimed to investigate the metabolome profile of green soybean, identify bioactive metabolites, and to further explore the potential improvement of the identified bioactive metabolites using germination and tempe fermentation. A total of 80 metabolites were annotated from green soybean using GC-MS and HPLC-PDA-MS. Among them, 16 important bioactive metabolites were identified: soy isoflavones daidzin, glycitin, genistin, malonyl daidzin, malonyl genistin, malonyl glycitin, acetyl daidzin, acetyl genistin, acetyl glycitin, daidzein, glycitein, and genistein, as well as other metabolites including 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3-hydroxyanthranillic acid, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid (meglutol), and 4-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Germination and tempe fermentation techniques were employed to potentially improve the concentrations of these bioactive metabolites. While showing improvements in amino acid contents, germination process did not improve bioactive metabolites significantly. In contrast, tempe fermentation was found to significantly increase the concentrations of daidzein, genistein, glycitein, acetyl genistin, acetyl daidzin, 3-hydroxyanthranillic acid, and meglutol (>2-fold increase with p < 0.05) while also improving amino acid levels. This study highlights the potentials of germination and fermentation to improve the functionality of legumes, particularly green soybean.

Keywords: Bioactive compounds; Edamame; Food metabolomics; Green soybean; Soybean.

MeSH terms

Amino Acids / metabolism
Fermentation
Genistein / metabolism
Glycine max* / chemistry
Isoflavones* / metabolism
Meglutol / metabolism
Metabolomics

Substances

Genistein
Meglutol
Isoflavones
Amino Acids