Although everyone knows the common soybean in beige color, in 2019 the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (Embrapa), in partnership with the Agricultural Research Company of Minas Gerais (EPAMIG) and the Triângulo Foundation, launched a black soybean cultivar known by the name BRSMG 715A. At the time, the objective was to offer an alternative to expand the adoption of soybeanin human food, maintaining its productive potential in the crop.

"There are several characteristics that differentiate black soybean from commercial cultivars, in addition to color. The first is the higher protein content, which makes it more nutritious. The second is the greatest cooking facility. The third is the pleasant taste, according to the tests carried out. The fourth is the highest proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids, which gives them greater oxidative stability. And the fifth is to be rich in anthocyanins (which give the color black), which are natural antioxidants. The fact that this cultivar was developed with black coloration was not by chance, since the underlying strategy is to use it as a partial or total substitute for black beans in brazileiríssima feijoada", say Décio Luiz Gazzoni, researcher at Embrapa and Miguel Alves Pereira Jr, doctor in Londrina-PR.

Among the main benefits, the consumption of black soybean (35% of the diet), for 10 weeks, in ovariectomized rats, increased antioxidant activity, inhibiting oxidative stress and improving lipid profiles, resulting in the reduction of risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). "Another study with guinea pigs showed that oral administration of black soybean extract in rats at 50 and 100 mg/kg of body weight for 14 days reduced the risk of CVD by improving blood circulation by inhibiting platelet aggregation and thrombus formation," he adds.

"Vascular function is closely related to the risk of CVDs. One of the most important risk factors is the aging of the body, which causes functional and structural changes in the vascular wall. Increased vascular stiffness is the main consequence, and compromises vascular adaptation to changes in blood flow and blood pressure," he concludes.

Source: Agrolink