Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 202-220 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 214 During germination, combining ultrasound with exogenous GABA or calcium ions (Ca²⁺) is an effective strategy to further enrich phenolic metabolites. Studies have shown that ultrasound combined with GABA treatment or ultrasound-Ca²⁺ pretreatment significantly increases the contents of free polyphenols and flavonoids and provides stronger antioxidant activity than germination alone (Wang et al., 2023). These treatments activate several flavonoid, isoflavonoid, and phenylpropanoid metabolic pathways, thereby promoting the accumulation of functional compounds. Studies on the application of high-intensity ultrasound in legume proteins have shown that cavitation can unfold protein structures, improving their solubility, emulsifying properties, and gel-forming ability. This provides an important technical basis for developing mung bean functional foods with both good processing performance and health-promoting properties (Yu et al., 2024). 9 Development and Application of Functional Mung Bean Products 9.1 Functional foods and nutritional health products Mung bean is widely recognized as a functional food because it contains high-quality protein, dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and abundant bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, polysaccharides, and bioactive peptides. These compounds give mung bean many physiological benefits, including lowering blood glucose, blood lipids, and blood pressure, protecting the liver, preventing cancer, and regulating the immune system (Shahrajabian et al., 2019). Among these components, mung bean proteins and their derived peptides are considered promising ingredients for nutritional and health products. These bioactive peptides show antioxidant, anti-obesity, cholesterol-lowering, antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, and anticancer activities. They can be used in functional foods, edible packaging films, and active carrier materials (Gupta, 2024). Traditional mung bean products include mung bean flour, mung bean cake, mung bean paste, mung bean soup, mung bean porridge, and mung bean noodles. In recent years, modern functional products have gradually developed toward high-protein, low-sugar, and convenient foods. These products include mung bean protein powder, plant-based mung bean protein drinks, mung bean dietary fiber powder, meal replacement powder, nutrition bars, and mung bean protein beverages (Figure 3). In China, companies such as VIVI Group, Dali Foods, Wahaha, and Yinlu Food have launched mung bean beverages and cereal drinks. Among them, Yinlu's "Haozhoudao" mung bean porridge and Wahaha mung bean drinks have achieved good market performance during the summer season. Traditional food companies such as Beijing Daoxiangcun, Shenda Cheng, and Zhiweiguan have also produced mung bean cakes and mung bean ice cakes for many years. 9.2 Mung bean sprouts and health-promoting products Germination can greatly improve the functional value of mung bean. During sprouting, the contents of total phenolics, flavonoids, free radical scavenging activity, and polyphenol diversity all increase, resulting in stronger antioxidant activity and better cellular protection. Germinated mung bean products also show stronger cytoprotective effects and antiproliferative activity in colon cell models (Kapravelou et al., 2020). During germination, the combined use of ultrasonic treatment and exogenous γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) can further increase the contents of free polyphenols and flavonoids, improve antioxidant activity in vitro, and produce a richer profile of phenolic metabolites. Mung bean sprout powder obtained after 48 h of germination can continuously release polyphenols during simulated digestion. Germination not only reduces antinutritional factors but also improves nutritional quality. Therefore, mung bean sprouts are widely recommended as important raw materials for dietary supplements and products related to "global medicine" (Nurbaety and Jumriani, 2025). Many mung bean sprout products are now available on the market, including fresh sprouts, cleaned and packaged sprouts, ready-to-eat seasoned sprouts, frozen sprouts, freeze-dried sprout powder, and mung bean sprout nutrition powder. In China, food processing companies such as Zuming Food, VIVI Food, as well as many central kitchen and fresh vegetable processing companies, have introduced packaged mung bean sprout products that are widely supplied to supermarkets, fresh food e-commerce platforms, and catering supply chains. Some companies have also developed GABA-enriched mung bean sprout powder for use in sports nutrition products and healthy instant beverages.
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