Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 202-220 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 207 Studies on bioactive peptides consistently showed that both membrane-separated protein hydrolysates and purified antioxidant peptides produced similar results. Peptides with lower molecular weight, higher hydrophobicity, and/or higher cysteine content exhibited the strongest DPPH, superoxide anion, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, together with excellent metal ion chelating ability (Sonklin et al., 2021). Studies using different immune cell models, including RAW264.7 cells, Caco-2 cells, and MBP-treated RAW264.7 cells, demonstrated that mung bean peptides and polysaccharides regulate the NF-κB, TLR4, and MAPK signaling pathways, thereby suppressing excessive inflammatory responses or promoting appropriate immune activation (Diao et al., 2022). Animal experiments further extended these findings to the whole-organism level. Both DSS-induced Drosophila and mouse colitis models demonstrated that mung bean peptides maintained intestinal structural integrity, improved survival rate or disease scores, restored the expression of intestinal barrier proteins, remodeled gut microbiota, and reduced inflammatory cytokine levels. In HFD/STZ-induced diabetic mice, MELNs improved blood glucose control, reduced hepatic oxidative stress and inflammatory infiltration, and increased pancreatic β-cell area, linking their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities with improved metabolic function (He et al., 2023). 4 Health Effects on Metabolic Diseases 4.1 Hypoglycemic effect and diabetes prevention Whole mung beans, mung bean seed coats, mung bean sprouts, water extracts, polyphenol extracts, and bioactive peptides can all reduce fasting blood glucose, improve glucose tolerance, and increase insulin sensitivity in diabetes or prediabetes models (Li et al., 2023; Gupta and Verma, 2026). Exosome-like nanoparticles from mung bean sprouts and extracts from mung bean seed coats can lower fasting blood glucose, improve the results of the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT), and restore pancreatic β-cell area or improve pancreatic tissue structure (Li et al., 2022). Clinical studies have also shown positive results. A purified mung bean protein product (GLUCODIA) can suppress the seasonal increase in fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels in people with prediabetes. It also reduces the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), suggesting that it may help prevent the development of insulin resistance (Kohno et al., 2017). 4.2 Lipid-lowering effect and obesity management Mung bean intake can significantly improve abnormal blood lipid levels. It reduces total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C), while increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-related indicators. In high-fat diet models, mung bean flour and its bioactive peptides reduce body weight gain, fat accumulation, and adipocyte size, thereby helping prevent obesity and obesity-related metabolic syndrome (Hou et al., 2020c). About one-third of the published studies reported clear lipid-lowering and anti-obesity effects (Karami et al., 2025). In addition, clinical trials using mung bean protein isolate have shown that it can reduce serum triacylglycerol (TAG) levels, improve liver enzyme indicators, and may help prevent visceral fat accumulation (Kohno et al., 2018). 4.3 Regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism Mung bean affects several steps of glucose metabolism. It promotes glucose uptake in peripheral tissues, increases hepatic hexokinase activity, inhibits gluconeogenesis, and suppresses starch-digesting enzymes, thereby improving glucose utilization. At the same time, mung bean water extracts, polyphenols, and bioactive peptides can reduce the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and relieve oxidative stress, which indirectly helps maintain glucose homeostasis (Saeting et al., 2021).
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