ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Mung beans [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] are good sources of protein. Nevertheless, its protein quality is still questionable. This study aimed to determine the effect of different processes prior to boiling, on the in vitro protein and amino acid digestibility of mung beans by using a 6-hour enzymatic digestion. Methods: This study was based on the household method of the processes before boiling including unsoaking, soaking, and dehulling. Products from all treatment methods were analysed for proximate composition (moisture, crude protein, crude fat, ash, and dietary fibre) on a dry basis, naturally occurring anti-nutritional factors, amino acid composition, and digestibility of protein and amino acids. The amino acid composition and amino acid digestibility were used to calculate the dietary protein quality. Results: The treatments prior to the boiling of mung beans such as dehulling, soaking and without soaking, improved protein digestibility significantly by 10.8%, 10.3%, and 12.0%, respectively, when compared with that of raw mung beans (37.9%). Of the different mung bean pre-treatments, soaking seems to have the highest value of average indispensable amino acid (IAA) digestibility (55.4%), in particularly branched-chain amino acids (66.4%). However, there was no difference in the protein quality in terms of digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) across different treatment groups. Conclusion: The different processes performed on mung bean before boiling had only a slight impact on its amino acid digestibility and they rarely affected DIAAS values.