Cereal Chem 65:435-442   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Degradation of Bean Proteins by Endogenous and Exogenous Proteases--A Review.

S. S. Nielsen. Copyright 1988 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Bean proteins are degraded by proteases when humans and insects utilize the protein for food and during germination of the seed. Whereas human digestive enzymes generally act on heat-denatured bean proteins, enzymes in the germinated seed and in the bean weevil must degrade native bean proteins. Unlike the germinated seed and the bean weevil, which utilize a cysteine proteinase along with other types of enzymes to degrade bean proteins, humans depend largely on acid and serine proteases. Comparing the breakdown of bean proteins by various proteases in these three systems leads to a better understanding of bean protein structure and nutritive value.