The alternative source of high GABA content derived from germinated black bean

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a kind of biological component which is also considered as one of the inhibitory neurotransmitter in the nervous system. GABA source is generally found in bean seeds, but its production was very difficult to have the biological effect due to the existing of low GABA concentration. To enrich the GABA content in the beans, seed germination process was conducted. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the effect of germination times for GABA production in black bean seeds. For this reason, the black bean seeds were germinated and observed at different germination times of 0 h (after soaking immediately), 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, and 36 h, respectively. The result revealed that the highest of GABA content in germinated black beans were found at 4.78 mg/g (24 h after germination) which was 7.83 times higher than the nongerminated black beans (0.61 mg/g). However, the concentration of GABA was decreased probably 2.53 times after 36 h (1.89 mg/g) from the maximum content, likely due to the plant growth metabolism. In overall, this current study confirmed that the germination process could be used as an alternative way to provide high GABA content for the future bean products, especially black bean milk and sprouts.

γ-氨基丁酸（Gamma-aminobutyric acid，GABA）是一类生物活性成分，同时也被视作神经系统中的抑制性神经递质之一。GABA广泛存在于豆科种子中，但天然状态下其浓度较低，难以发挥生物学效应。为提升豆类中的GABA含量，本研究采用种子萌发处理手段，旨在探究萌发时长对黑豆种子中GABA合成的影响。为此，研究人员将黑豆种子进行萌发处理，并分别在0小时（浸泡后即刻）、6小时、12小时、24小时及36小时这几个不同萌发时长节点开展取样观测。结果显示，萌发黑豆的GABA含量在萌发24小时时达到峰值，为4.78 mg/g，较未萌发黑豆（0.61 mg/g）高出7.83倍。但在萌发36小时后，GABA浓度较峰值下降约2.53倍，降至1.89 mg/g，该现象可能与植物生长代谢过程相关。综上，本研究证实，种子萌发处理可作为一种有效手段，为未来豆制品（尤其是黑豆奶与黑豆芽）提供高含量的GABA。